AS    THE   DEER   BOUNDED    UP   THE    BANK,    JACK    FIRED — Page   4I 


JACK 

THE  YOUNG  CANOEMAN 

An  Eastern  Boy's  Voyage  in  a 
Chinook  Canoe 

BY 

GEORGE   BIRD   GRINNELL 

Author  of   ''Jack  in  the  Rockies,"    <'Jack  the  Young  Ranchman," 
'*Jack  Among  the  Indians,"  "Pawnee  Hero  Stories,"  "  Black- 
foot  Lodge  Tales,"  "The  Story  of  the  Indian," 
"  The  Indian  of  To-day,"  etc, 

ILLUSTRATED  BY  EDWIN  WILLARD  DEMING 

And  by  Half-tone  Engra'vings  of 
Photographs 


NEW   YORK 
FREDERICK  A.   STOKES   COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  igo6 
By  Frederick  A.  Stokes  Company 


Published  in  September,  1906 
All  rights  reserved 


r^v^ 


v^'^ 


THE    UNIVERSITY    PRESS,    CAMBRIDGE,    U.  S.  A. 


PREFACE 

The  mountains  which  border  the  British  Columbia 
coast  between  the  mouth  of  the  Frazer  River  and  the 
southeastern  point  of  Alaska  are  still  unknown  to  the 
world  at  large.  Few  people  have  sailed  up  the  won- 
derful fiords,  which,  as  great  water-floored  canyons, 
run  back  forty  or  fifty  miles  into  the  interior.  Fewer 
still  have  penetrated  by  land  into  the  mountains  where 
there  are  neither  roads  nor  trails,  and  where  prog- 
ress on  foot  is  barred  by  a  thousand  insurmountable 
obstacles. 

Since  the  time  that  Jack  Danvers  made  his  voyage 
in  a  Chinook  canoe  along  this  beautiful  coast,  it  has 
not  greatly  changed.  The  mountains  still  abound  in 
game,  the  sea  in  fish;  the  scenery  is  as  beautiful  as 
it  was  then ;  and  over  the  waters,  dancing  blue  beneath 
the  brilliant  sky,  or  black  under  the  heavy  rain  clouds, 
the  Indian  still  paddles  his  high-prowed  canoe. 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I.   Victoria,  V.  I ii 

II.    How    Jack    and    Hugh    Came    to    British 

Columbia 22 

III.  A  Mysterious  Water  Monster       ....  31 

IV.  The  Cobbler  Naturalist  of  Burrard  Inlet  40 
V.    An  Unexpected  Bear 53 

VI.    Of  Indians  in  Armor 68 

VII.    Seammux  in  Danger 78 

VIII.    The  Coast  Indians  and  their  Ways  ...  91 

IX.    Preparation  for  the  Voyage 103 

X.   The  Start iii 

XI.    Food  from  the  Sea 124 

XII.   The  Island  Deer 135 

XIII.  An  Adventure  of  the  Cassiar 147 

XIV.  BurE  Inlet 158 

XV.    The  Work  that  Glaciers  Do 172 

XVI.    A  Mother's  Courage 189 


vili  CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

XVII.  Jack  Meets  a  Seal  Pirate 209 

XVIII.  Millions  of  Salmon 228 

XIX.  Fishing  with  a  Siwash 236 

XX.  Off  for  a  Hunt  in  the  Mountains  .     .     .  251 

XXI.  Last  Days  in  British  Columbia      ....  264 

XXI I.  The  Homeward  Road 277 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

As  the  deer  bounded  up  the  bank,  Jack  fired  .     .    Frontispiece 

Jack  fired  at  the  white  spot  on  the  beast's  breast  Facing  page  58 

Seammux  also  rolled  after  the  goat,  and  he,  too, 

disappeared "  "82 

Here  they  wear  white  men's  clothes,  including 

shoes  and  hats "  "92 

"  Close  to  some  of  the  houses  stand  tall  carved 

poles,  called  totem  poles " *'         "98 

When  they  saw  the  canoe  they  all  stopped  and 

began  to  stare  at  it '*         "190 

Drove  her  short  horns  deep  into  his  side     .     .       "         "    204 

An  Indian  salmon  weir "         "234 


Jack  the  Young  Canoeman 


CHAPTER    I 

VICTORIA,    V.    I. 

"  Say,  Hugh,  what  is  that  Indian  doing  in  that 
canoe?  I  thought  at  first  that  he  was  paddhng,  but 
he  does  n't  seem  to  move,  and  that  does  n't  look  hke 
a  paddle  that  he  has  in  his  hand." 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  son,  I  don't  know  what  he 
is  doing.  This  business  here  on  the  salt  water  puzzles 
me,  and  everything  is  strange  and  queer.  This  ain't 
like  the  prairie,  nor  these  ain't  like  any  mountains  that 
I  've  ever  seen.  I  am  beginning  at  the  bottom  and 
have  got  to  learn  everything.  But  about  that  Indian 
in  the  canoe,  you  can  see  that  the  boat  does  n't  move; 
and  you  can  see,  too,  if  you  look  sharp,  that  he 's 
anchored.  Don't  you  see  that  taut  line  reaching  down 
into  the  water?  " 

''  That 's  so,"  said  Jack ;  *'  he  surely  is  anchored,  but 
he  works  his  arms  just  as  if  he  were  paddling.  I  am 
going  to  ask  this  man  over  here." 

Jack  walked  over  to  a  sailor  who  stood  leaning 
against  the  rail  of  the  deck  on  which  they  were  sitting, 
and  who  was  looking  over  the  water,  and  said  to  him : 
*'  Will  you  tell  me,  sir,  what  that  Indian  is  doing  in 
the  canoe  over  there?  " 

The  man  turned  his  head  and  looked  in  the  direction 
in  which  Jack  was  pointing,  and  said :  "  Yes,  I  can  tell 
you  what  he  is  doing;  he  is  fishing.  Don't  you  see 
that  every  stroke  he  makes  he  is  bringing  up  some 
herrings?  " 


12  JACK   THE   YOCJNG   CANOEMAN 

"  No,  I  don't  see  it,  and  I  will  be  much  obliged  to 
you  if  you  will  describe  to  me  how  he  is  fishing." 

"  Of  course  I  will,"  said  the  man.  *'  You  see  his 
canoe  is  anchored  there  in  that  deep  water,  just  this 
side  of  that  point  around  which  the  tide  runs  strong. 
At  this  season  of  the  year  the  herrings  gather  in  big 
schools  in  that  eddy  there.  Of  course  we  don't  know 
just  how  they  lie,  but  they  must  be  mighty  thick  to- 
gether. That  thing  the  Indian  has  in  his  hand  is  a 
pole  about  a  dozen  feet  long,  flattened  on  the  sides, 
and  maybe  a  couple  of  inches  across  in  its  widest  part. 
The  flattening  makes  the  pole  sort  of  oval  shaped,  if 
you  should  saw  through  it;  and  each  of  the  narrow 
edges  of  the  pole  is  studded  with  a  row  of  sharp  nails, 
about  an  inch  or  two  apart.  These  nails  are  firmly 
driven  into  the  wood  and  the  points  that  stick  out  for 
about  an  inch  are  very  sharp.  The  nails  run  for  about 
one  half  the  length  of  the  pole.  The  Indian,  sitting 
in  his  canoe  and  holding  the  upper  part  of  the  pole  in 
his  two  hands,  as  you  see,  just  as  he  would  hold  a 
paddle,  sweeps  the  end  of  it,  that  has  the  nails  in, 
through  the  water,  using  just  the  same  motion  that  he 
does  in  paddling.  The  herrings  down  there  are  so 
thick  that  every  time  he  passes  the  pole  vertically 
through  the  water  it  strikes  the  bodies  of  three  or  four 
of  the  fish  with  force  enough  to  drive  the  nails  into 
them;  and  as  the  man  continues  the  stroke  they  are 
pushed  ahead  of  the  pole.  When  the  stroke  is  finished 
and  the  end  of  the  pole  brought  out  of  the  water,  the 
fish  are  still  sticking  on  the  nails.  Then,  you  will  see, 
if  you  watch  him,  he  brings  the  nailed  end  of  the  pole 
in  over  the  canoe,  taps  the  pole  on  the  canoe,  and  the 
fish  drop  off  into  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  Don't  you 
see  the  white  shiny  specks  on  the  pole  every  time  he 
makes  a  stroke?  " 

*'  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  of  course  I  see  them,  but  that 
is  a  new  way  of  fishing  to  me,  and  I  never  should 


VICTORIA,    V.    I.  13 

have  guessed  what  he  was  trying  to  do.  I  should  think 
it  would  take  a  long  time  to  get  fish  enough  for  a 
mess  in  that  way." 

"Don't  you  believe  it,"  said  the  sailor;  "one  of 
those  fellows  may  get  a  bushel  or  two  of  fish  in  two 
or  three  hours.  Just  you  watch  the  pole  as  one  brings 
it  up  and  see  how  many  fish  he  gets  to  a  stroke,  and 
then  figure  how  many  strokes  he  makes  to  a  minute." 

Jack  watched  for  a  few  minutes  and  saw  that  at 
every  sweep  of  the  pole  two  or  half  a  dozen  fish  were 
brought  up  and  knocked  loose  so  as  to  fall  into  the 
canoe,  and  he  made  up  his  mind  that  after  all  this  was 
a  quick  and  easy  way  of  fishing. 

In  the  meantime  Hugh  had  strolled  up  and  was 
listening  to  their  talk,  but  without  making  any 
comment. 

Presently  Jack  said  to  the  sailor :  "  We  are  not  near 
enough  to  make  a  very  good  guess  at  the  size  of  those 
fish;    how  big  are  they?  " 

"  Oh,"  said  the  sailor,  "  they  are  not  very  big,  maybe 
not  more  than  four  or  six  inches  long,  but  there  are 
lots  of  them,  as  you  can  see.  They  catch  oolichans  in 
that  way  too,  when  they  are  here,  but  they  have  gone 
now.  Wq  only  have  them  during  the  month  of  May, 
but  then  they  gather  in  certain  places  and  there  are 
worlds  of  them.  The  Indians  catch  them,  and  the 
white  folks  catch  them ;  in  fact,  for  a  little  while 
pretty  nearly  everybody  lives  on  oolichans.  They 
are  mighty  good  eating,  I  can  tell  you,  and  besides 
those  eaten  fresh,  lots  of  them  are  smoked  and  salted. 
The  Indians  don't  save  many  of  them.  What  they 
don't  eat  fresh  they  use  to  make  oil  with,  for  the 
oolichan  is  an  awful  fat  fish  and  you  can  get  lots  of 
oil  out  of  them.  They  are  so  fat,  that  after  they  have 
been  dried  you  can  light  them  at  one  end  and  they 
will  burn  just  like  a  candle.  I  expect  that  is  the 
reason  that  sometimes  they  are  called  candle-fish." 


14  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

'^  Say,  friend/'  said  Hugh,  "  you  ain't  joking,  are 
you?  " 

"No,"  said  the  man,  ''I  ain't  joking;  that's  just 
the  way  it  is,  hke  I  tell  you." 

"  Well,  no  offence,"  said  Hugh.  "  Where  I  come 
from,  in  the  mountains  and  in  the  cattle  country,  some- 
times the  boys,  when  a  stranger  comes  around,  sort  of 
josh  him  in  a  good-natured  way,  and  tell  tall  stories 
just  to  see  how  much  he  will  believe.  I  did  n't  know 
that  maybe  you  had  such  a  custom  as  that  out  here." 

"  No,  sir,"  said  the  sailor,  "  we  don't  do  anything 
like  that  here.  We  suppose  that  people  ask  us  questions 
about  the  country  because  they  want  to  know  how 
things  really  are,  and  we  tell  them  just  what  the  facts 
are." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  ''  it  seems  to  me,  from  what  I 
have  seen,  that  the  facts  are  strange  enough  here,  and 
it  would  n't  be  necessary  for  you  to  stretch  them  a 
mite  to  astonish  folks." 

Soon  after  this  Hugh  and  Jack  went  back  to  the 
place  where  they  had  been  sitting,  in  the  shelter  of  the 
deck  cabin,  and  sat  there  looking  over  the  beautiful 
view  that  was  stretched  out  before  them.  Neither 
said  very  much.  Both  were  impressed  by  the  beauty 
of  the  scene  and  the  novelty  of  their  surroundings; 
for  neither  of  them  had  ever  seen  anything  like  it 
before. 

"  I  tell  you,  son,"  said  Hugh,  "  this  here  is  a  won- 
derful country  to  me,  and  I  never  saw  anything  to 
match  it.  You  see  it 's  the  first  time  that  I  ever  got 
down  to  the  edge  of  the  salt  water.  I  don't  know 
what  to  make  of  it  all.  Everything  is  different;  the 
mountains  and  timber,  the  people,  the  animals,  and 
the  birds.  And  as  for  fish  —  why !  I  never  supposed 
there  was  any  place  in  the  world  where  fish  were  as 
plenty  as  they  are  here." 

''  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  it 's  surely  a  wonderful  country. 


ml 


VICTORIA,   V.   I.  15 

There  is  something  new  to  look  at  every  minute ;  and 
it 's  all  just  as  different  as  can  be  from  anything  I 
ever  saw  before.  I  was  talking  to  one  of  the  pas- 
sengers here  a  little  while  ago  and  he  told  me  that 
these  Indians  here  live  almost  altogether  on  fish.  They 
dig  clams  and  catch  mussels  and  catch  the  salmon  and 
the  herrings  and  those  little  fish  this  sailor  was  talking 
about;  and  they  kill  seals  and  porpoises  and  even 
whales.  It 's  all  mighty  strange,  but  does  n't  it  show 
just  how  people  fit  themselves  to  the  conditions  that 
surround  them?  Now,  suppose  you  take  one  of  the 
Blackfeet,  turn  him  loose  on  his  horse  at  the  edge  of 
the  water,  and  how  do  you  think  he  would  go  to  work 
to  get  his  next  meal?  Why,  he  would  starve  to 
death." 

"  He  surely  would,"  said  Hugh.  "  Don't  you  know, 
that  the  things  these  Indians  here  eat  would  be  sort 
of  poison  to  the  Blackfeet  ?  It  is  against  their  medicine 
to  eat  fish  or  most  anything  that  lives  in  the  water. 
They  think  those  things  are  not  fit  to  eat,  and  many  of 
them  would  starve  before  they  would  even  touch  them." 

The  vessel  ploughed  its  way  through  the  strait  with 
the  land  rising  high  on  the  right  and  lower  on  the 
left-hand  side.  Both  coasts  were  rock-bound,  and  the 
heavy  swell  dashed  against  the  shore  great  waves, 
whose  foam  flew  high  into  the  air.  Away  to  the  south 
rose  high  rough  mountains,  their  summits  white  with 
snow.  To  the  north  the  land  rose  gently,  and  green 
fields,  dotted  here  and  there  with  white  houses,  stretched 
away  for  miles.     Beyond  were  hills,  forest-clad. 

The  travellers  were  busy  looking  in  all  directions  at 
the  beautiful  prospect  spread  before  them.  Suddenly, 
not  far  from  the  ship,  a  great  head  rose  above  the 
water,  remaining  there  for  a  moment  looking  at  the 
boat.  Jack  saw  it  and  called  out  to  his  companion: 
"  O  Hugh  !  that  must  be  a  sea-lion  or  a  fur  seal !  It 's 
bigger  than  the  seals  that  I  have  seen  on  the  coast  of 


i6  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

Maine."  After  a  moment  the  head  disappeared  be- 
neath the  water.  But  in  a  few  moments  several  other 
heads  were  seen;  and  these  seals,  less  timid  than  the 
first,  swam  along  not  far  from  the  boat,  showing  their 
great  bodies  partly  out  of  the  water,  and  sometimes,  in 
chasing  one  another,  jumping  high  into  the  air.  Fur- 
ther along,  the  boat  startled  from  the  surface  of  the 
water  a  group  of  black  birds.  Less  in  size  than  ducks, 
they  flew  swiftly  along,  close  to  the  water's  surface. 
Jack  could  see  that  on  the  shoulders  of  each  bird  was 
a  round  spot  of  white,  while  the  legs  were  coral-re-d. 

"  There  is  a  new  bird  to  me,  Hugh,  and  I  bet  it  is  to 
you,  too.  That  must  be  one  of  the  birds  they  call 
guillemots.  They  live  up  in  the  North  and  breed  on 
the  ledges  of  the  rock.    I  have  read  about  them  often." 

''  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  there  's  surely  plenty  to  see 
here;  and  I  wouldn't  be  surprised  if  you  and  I  trav- 
elled around  all  the  time  with  our  mouths  open,  just 
because  we  are  too  surprised  to  remember  to  shut 
them." 

All  this  time  the  boat  was  moving  swiftly  along. 
Toward  afternoon  she  rounded  a  sharp  point  of  rocks ; 
and,  proceeding  up  a  narrow  channel,  the  buildings  of 
the  town  of  Victoria  were  soon  seen  in  the  distance. 
Hugh  said: 

"  That  must  be  our  landing  place,  son.  I  '11  be  glad 
to  get  ashore  and  stretch  my  legs.  I  take  it,  this  here 
land  that  we  are  coming  to  is  an  island,  and  very  likely 
there  won't  be  a  horse  in  the  place.  We  '11  have  to 
do  all  of  our  travelling  a-foot,  or  in  one  of  these 
cranky  canoes,  and  I  have  n't  much  of  a  notion  of 
getting  into  one  of  them.  I  '11  be  a  good  deal  like  you 
were  the  first  time  you  got  on  a  horse  —  afraid  I  '11 
fall  off ;  and  yet  I  don't  know  as  they  '11  be  any  harder 
to  ride  in  than  the  birch  canoes  I  used  to  travel  in  up 
in  the  North." 

Victoria,  where  our  travellers  landed  that  afternoon, 


VICTORIA,   V.   I.  17 

was  a  charming,  quiet  town  of  six  or  seven  thousand 
inhabitants,  situated  on  the  extreme  southeastern  point 
of  Vancouver  Island.  For  many  years  after  its  settle- 
ment it  had  been  nothing  more  than  the  Hudson's  Bay 
fort  and  trading  post,  with  a  few  dwellings  occupied 
by  those  employed  there.  But  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
small  quantities  on  the  Frazer  River  in  1857,  and 
later  on  at  the  placer  mines  on  the  Quesnelle  and  at 
Caribou,  made  a  great  change  in  the  prospects  of  the 
place.  Word  of  the  new  diggings  travelled  fast  and 
soon  reached  California,  causing  a  world  of  excitement 
among  the  mining  population  of  that  State,  then  ripe 
for  a  fresh  move.  A  rush  took  place,  and  all  those 
who  travelled  toward  the  new  mines  in  British  Colum- 
bia passed  by  the  drowsy  old  Hudson's  Bay  fort, 
where  hitherto  the  only  event  of  the  year  had  been  the 
arrival  of  the  ship  from  England  with  the  mail.  Now 
the  fort  was  startled  by  the  coming  of  twenty  thou- 
sand miners,  who  pitched  their  tents  about  it  and 
founded  Victoria.  Buildings  sprang  up  and  trade  was 
attracted.  Every  one  going  to  the  mines  or  coming 
from  them  passed  through  the  town  and  paid  its 
tribute,  and  high  hopes  were  entertained  of  its  future 
importance.  People  who  lived  there  began  to  call  it 
"  the  emporium  of  commerce,"  "  the  metropolis  of  the 
northwest  coast  of  America."  But,  unfortunately  for 
Victoria,  the  mines,  which  caused  this  excitement  soon 
ceased  to  pay;  and  the  town's  commerce  fell  off.  It 
did  not  fulfil  the  promises  of  its  early  youth,  and  its 
growth  has  since  been  slow.  Now,  however,  there 
was  a  prospect  of  speedy  communication  with  the  rest 
of  the  world ;  for  during  the  summer  when  our  trav- 
ellers reached  there,  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad 
was  being  built  and  the  loyal  inhabitants  of  Victoria 
were  again  anticipating  that  the  place  would  become 
a  great  city  —  ''a  second  San  Francisco."  There  was 
reason  for  their  hopes.     While  the  railroad  could  not 


i8  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

directly  reach  Victoria,  its  terminus  on  the  mainland 
would  be  within  easy  reach  of  the  Island  City,  and 
would  give  Vancouver  Island  a  market  for  its  products. 
Its  trade  at  that  time  was  little  or  nothing,  for  the 
goods  sent  to  the  United  States  had  to  pay  a  heavy 
duty,  which  left  little  margin  for  profit. 

Hugh  and  Jack  spent  several  days  at  Victoria.  The 
country  was  picturesque  and  attractive,  and  the  roads 
good.  They  took  long  walks  into  the  country  to  the 
Gorge  and  to  Cedar  Hill,  from  which  a  beautiful  view 
of  the  city  could  be  obtained.  The  panorama  included 
also  a  view  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  the  Gulf  of  Georgia 
with  its  hundreds  of  islands,  and  the  mainland,  rough 
with  mountain  peaks,  among  which,  rising  above  all, 
stood  Mt.  Baker,  calm  and  white,  a  snow-clad  monarch. 
While  they  remained  in  the  town  they  lived  literally 
on  the  fat  of  the  land.  Victoria  boasted  one  of  the 
best  hotels  in  the  world;  not  a  pretentious  structure, 
but  one  where  everything  that  was  good  to  eat,  in 
abundance,  well  cooked  and  well  served,  was  furnished. 
There  were  fish  of  many  sorts,  —  salmon  and  sea  bass, 
herring  and  oolichans,  oysters  and  clams,  crabs,  game, 
delicious  vegetables,  and  abundance  of  fruit. 

Mr.  Sturgis  had  given  to  Hugh  a  letter  to  an 
acquaintance  of  his  in  Victoria,  and  one  day  Hugh  and 
Jack  called  on  Mr.  MacTavish.  He  was  an  old  Hud- 
son Bay  man,  who,  after  retiring  from  the  service  of 
the  Company  had  come  to  Victoria  to  live.  He  had 
a  delightful  family,  and  a  charming  house,  full  of  a 
multitude  of  interesting  curiosities,  picked  up  during 
his  long  service  in  the  North.  Of  these,  one  of  the 
most  interesting  was  a  complete  set  of  dinner  dishes, 
carved  out  of  black  slate  by  the  Haida  Indians  of  the 
North.  While  the  figures  exhibited  on  these  were 
conventional  in  form  and  of  Indian  type,  the  carving 
was  so  remarkably  good  that  it  was  hard  for  Hugh 
and  Jack  to  believe  that  the  work  was  Indian.    Neither 


VICTORIA,   V.    I.  19 

had  ever  seen  anything  done  by  Indians  more  artistic 
than  the  ordinary  painted  skins  of  the  plains'  Tribes; 
and  when  they  saw  such  dehcate,  beautifully  carved 
work,  often  inlaid  with  the  white  teeth  or  fragments 
of  bones  of  animals,  it  was  hard  for  them  to  under- 
stand how  it  all  could  have  been  done  by  native 
artists. 

Mr.  MacTavish  told  them  much  about  the  life  of 
the  island,  —  the  fishing  and  hunting.  He  said  that 
at  that  very  time,  during  the  month  of  July,  the  salt 
waters  of  the  Straits  and  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia 
abounded  with  salmon,  which  wxre  readily  taken  by 
trolling;  and  when  thus  taken,  on  a  light  rod,  furnished 
fine  sport.  Many  of  the  brooks  of  the  island,  too, 
afforded  excellent  trout  fishing. 

About  Victoria  there  were  found,  he  said,  two 
species  of  grouse,  —  the  ruffed  grouse  and  the  blue 
grouse.  The  California  quail  had  been  introduced 
and  seemed  to  be  increasing,  but  sportsmen  did  not 
care  much  for  it,  because  it  did  not  lie  well  to  a  dog, 
but  ran  when  alarmed  and  took  to  the  thickest  brush, 
wdiere  it  was  impossible  to  shoot  it.  In  the  autumn 
ducks  and  geese  occurred  in  great  numbers;  and,  on 
the  whole,  shooting  was  good.  Their  host  also  told 
them  there  was  a  considerable  variety  of  big  game. 
Deer  were  abundant  within  a  few  miles  of  Victoria; 
and  it  was  not  uncommon  for  people,  starting  out  in 
the  evening,  to  drive  into  the  country  and  return  the 
next  night  with  several.  There  were  some  places 
where  still-hunting  could  be  successfully  followed ;  but 
in  most  cases  it  was  necessary  to  use  hounds  to  drive 
the  deer  to  the  water,  for  the  timber  was  so  thick,  and 
the  underbrush  and  ferns  so  dense  and  tangled,  that 
it  was  impossible  to  travel  through  the  forests  without 
making  a  great  deal  of  noise. 

Their  entertainer  astonished  Hugh  and  Jack  by 
telling  them  that  further  north  on  the  island,  in  the 


20  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

neighborhood  of  Comox,  elk  were  to  be  found.  They 
were  not  abundant,  he  said,  and  were  hard  to  approach 
on  account  of  the  character  of  the  forest;  but  they 
were  certainly  there.  Bears  and  panthers  were  every- 
where quite  abundant.  Sooke,  a  village  about  twenty 
miles  from  Victoria,  was  a  great  place  for  bears. 
Many  of  those  killed  were  black  or  cinnamon ;  but 
it  was  reported  that  there  were  also  grizzlies  at  Sooke. 
The  panthers  were  little  hunted,  except  in  places  where 
farmers  had  flocks  or  herds  to  protect.  They  lived 
principally  on  the  deer,  which  were  very  abundant. 
There  were  a  few  wolves,  but  except  in  winter  they 
were  seldom  seen. 

Mr.  MacTavish  had  a  good  knowledge  of  natural 
history;  and  he  had  much  to  say  to  Jack,  who  was 
interested  in  the  subject,  about  the  curious  forms  of 
life  found  in  the  surrounding  waters.  When  he 
heard  that  Jack  and  Hugh  had  come  up  there  to  spend 
a  month  travelling  among  the  islands,  he  told  them 
that  the  best  thing  that  they  could  do  would  be  to 
go  over  to  the  mainland,  and  there  make  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Jack  Fannin,  a  cobbler,  living  on  Burrard  Inlet, 
as  he  knew  more  about  the  birds  and  mammals  of  the 
Province  than  any  other  man. 

''  Fannin  is  the  man  for  you,"  said  Mr.  MacTavish, 
''  and  you  should  see  him  before  you  make  up  your 
minds  to  do  anything.  He  will  give  you  the  best 
advice  possible ;  and  perhaps  you  can  even  get  him  to 
go  with  you.  That  would  be  a  great  thing;  it  would 
add  enormously  to  your  pleasure,  and  would  save  you 
many  delays.  And  as  he  has  mined,  hunted,  canoed, 
and  chopped  logs  over  much  of  the  coast,  he  knows  it 
as  well  as  any  one." 

Our  friends  spent  a  long,  delightful  afternoon  with 
Mr.  MacTavish,  and  when  they  spoke  of  returning 
to  their  hotel  he  would  not  let  them  go,  but  kept  them 
with  him  for  the  evening  meal.     They  walked  back 


VICTORIA,    V.    I.  21 

through  the  clear,  cool  moonlight  to  Victoria,  and 
before  they  had  reached  there  had  agreed  that  they 
would  go  by  the  first  steamer  to  New  Westminster 
to  hunt  up  Mr.  Fannin. 

The  next  day  when  they  told  Mr.  MacTavish  of 
their  decision,  he  congratulated  them  on  their  good 
judgment  and  gave  them  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  New 
Westminster,  who  would  take  care  of  them  and  see 
that  they  lost  no  time  in  finding  the  man  they  wanted. 

The  hospitality  and  kindness  shown  the  two  Ameri- 
cans by  Mr.  MacTavish  was  typical  of  the  treatment 
they  received  everywhere  in  British  Columbia.  People 
there,  they  found,  had  time  to  enjoy  life.  They  did 
not  rush  about,  after  the  headlong  American  fashion, 
but  took  things  quietly  and  easily.  The  stores  were 
opened  about  nine  or  ten  in  the  morning,  and  at 
twelve  they  were  closed.  The  shop-keepers  went  home 
to  lunch,  appearing  again  and  reopening  their  places 
about  two  o'clock ;  keeping  them  open  until  four  or 
five  in  the  afternoon.  Then  their  day's  work  was  over 
and  they  closed  up  for  the  night 


CHAPTER    II 

HOW    JACK    AND    HUGH    CAME    TO    BRITISH    COLUMBIA 

Two  days  later  Hugh  and  Jack  started  by  steamer 
for  the  town  of  New  Westminster,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Fraser  River,  on  the  mainland.  The  trip  was  one 
of  great  beauty,  for  the  boat  wound  its  way  here  and 
there  amid  the  many  islands  of  the  gulf;  and  as  each 
one  was  passed  a  new  vista  of  beauty  burst  on  the 
view.  And,  while  the  two  travellers  are  sitting  on 
the  steamer's  deck,  admiring  the  wonderful  scenery 
opening  on  all  sides,  wondering  at  the  new  birds  and 
animals  which  appeared,  and  talking  over  the  possi- 
bilities for  their  summer  trip,  it  may  be  explained 
how  it  came  to  pass  that  these  two  friends  found  them- 
selves so  far  from  their  homes  and  from  the  high, 
dry  plains  where  the  summers  of  the  three  previous 
years  had  been  passed  by  both. 

It  was  six  months  before  —  to  be  exact,  it  was  on 
Christmas  Day  —  that  the  thought  of  the  trip  to  Brit- 
ish Columbia  had  first  been  broached.  Mr.  Sturgis, 
Jack's  uncle,  had  come  back  from  the  ranch  and  was 
spending  the  winter  with  Jack's  father  and  mother  at 
the  house  on  Thirty-Eighth  Street;  and  it  was  while 
they  were  sitting  at  dessert  during  their  Christmas 
dinner  that  Mr.  Sturgis  had  announced  that  during 
the  next  summer  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  go 
out  to  British  Columbia  to  inspect  a  mine  in  which  he 
was  interested,  and  had  proposed  that  Jack  should  go 
with  him. 

For  three  years  past  Jack  had  spent  the  summer  on 
the  western  plains.    Ill  health  had  been  the  first  cause 


BRITISH    COLUMBIA  23 

of  his  going  out  to  Swiftwater  Ranch,  where  he  had 
learned  to  ride,  to  hunt  big  game,  and  to  Hve  the  life 
of  a  ranchman.  So  greatly  had  he  been  benefited  by 
this  trip,  that  the  next  summer  he  was  permitted  to 
return  to  the  ranch.  Then  he  and  old  Hugh  Johnson 
had  travelled  north,  across  the  lonely,  buffalo-dotted 
plains,  until  they  had  come  to  the  country  of  the 
Piegan  Blackfeet,  where  they  had  spent  the  summer 
in  the  Indian  camp,  and  Jack  had  seen  much  of 
Indian  life  —  of  its  charms  and  its  dangers.  He  re- 
turned at  length  down  the  Missouri  River  to  the  rail- 
road, and  so  back  to  his  home  in  New  York  for  the 
winter's  schooling.  The  third  year,  still  in  Hugh's 
company,  he  had  gone  up  the  Missouri  River;  and 
starting  southwest  from  Fort  Benton,  had  gone  through 
the  Yellowstone  Park  and  back  to  the  ranch,  having  a 
great  deal  of  shooting  and  fishing  and  not  a  little  of 
adventure. 

In  this  out-door  life,  in  knocking  about  with  Hugh 
Johnson  and  with  other  people  who  had  been  brought 
up  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Jack  had  learned  many 
lessons  of  the  plains  and  the  mountains.  He  had 
picked  up  a  great  store  of  the  lore  of  the  prairies, 
could  find  his  way  about,  even  though  there  might  be 
neither  road  nor  landmarks  to  guide  him ;  and,  under 
Hugh's  tuition,  had  become  a  good  prairie  man.  He 
had  also  become  very  fond  of  the  West;  and  when 
his  uncle  suggested  that  he  should  go  with  him  to 
British  Columbia,  he  was  delighted  at  the  thought  of 
the  trip.  Being  a  boy  of  good  sense,  he  said  nothing 
when  the  suggestion  was  made,  but  watched  the  faces 
of  his  father  and  mother,  to  see  how  they  felt  about  it. 

''  British  Columbia  seems  a  long  way  off,  does  n't  it, 
George?"  said  Mr.  Danvers  to  his  brother-in-law. 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack's  mother,  "  it  seems  a  terribly 
long  way  off.  I  have  been  badly  enough  frightened 
these   last   three  years,   when   Jack   went   out   into   a 


24  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

country  full  of  cowboys  and  Indians  and  wild  animals ; 
and  I  always  let  him  go  with  the  feeling  that  I  shall 
never  see  him  again.  Certainly  the  plains  are  far 
enough  away  for  him.  British  Columbia  must  be 
more  than  twice  as  far,  and  I  don't  feel  as  if  I  could 
think  of  that." 

"  You  and  Mary  have  hit  it  exactly,"  said  Mr. 
Sturgis.  ''  You  both  say  it  seems  a  long  way  off,  but 
in  practice  it  is  no  further  off  than  where  Jack  has  been 
before,  and,  indeed,  it  is  not  nearly  so  far.  British 
Columbia  is  at  least  within  reach  of  the  rest  of  the 
world  by  steam  communication  and  also  by  telegraph. 
You  can  learn  in  a  very  short  time  what  is  happening 
in  British  Columbia,  but  when  Jack  was  out  on  the 
plains,  between  my  ranch  and  Fort  Benton,  he  was 
practically  as  far  off  as  he  would  have  been  in  Central 
Africa.  The  distance  of  British  Columbia  is  all  in 
imagination.  The  country  is  one  that  we  hear  very 
little  of,  and  for  that  reason  we  think  it  far  away,  but 
it  is  not  so.  Now,  I  would  like  to  have  Jack  go  with 
me.  I  don't  mean  that  I  want  to  take  him  up  into  the 
mountains  to  have  him  spend  his  days  loafing  around 
a  mine  while  I  am  working;  but  I  thought  —  if  you 
feel  like  letting  him  go  with  me  —  we  would  have 
Hugh  Johnson  join  us  at  the  railroad,  all  go  on  to- 
gether to  British  Columbia,  and  let  Hugh  and  Jack 
take  a  hunt  or  a  canoe  trip  along  the  coast,  while  I 
go  back  to  my  mine  in  Washington  Territory.  I  shall 
be  there  a  month  or  six  weeks,  and  after  I  have 
done  my  work  and  they  have  made  their  trip,  we 
could  meet  and  come  across  overland  and  home  by 
the  new  railroad  that 's  being  built  north  from 
the  Union  Pacific  to  the  mining  regions  of  Montana 
Territory." 

When  Jack  heard  this  fascinating  plan  he  had  to 
hold  hard  to  his  chair  to  keep  still ;  and  he  could  n't 
help  drawing  in  his  breath  with   a  sort  of  whistle, 


BRITISH    COLUMBIA  25 

making  a  slight  noise,  so  that  his  father  looked  at  him 
and  laughed  a  little. 

"  You  both  know,"  continued  Mr.  Sturgis,  ''  what 
these  western  trips  have  done  for  Jack,  and  yet, 
really,  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  you  do  know;  I  am 
not  quite  sure  that  you  remember  what  a  wee  little 
bit  of  a  white  shrimp  he  was  when  he  first  went  out 
to  the  ranch;  how  he  changed  during  that  summer, 
and  how,  when  we  came  back  in  the  autumn,  you, 
Mary,  hardly  knew  the  boy.  See  how  he  has  grown, 
squared  up  —  what  a  picture  of  health  he  is !  You 
don't  know  —  and  perhaps  I  don't  either,  altogether ; 
except  so  far  as  I  have  been  told  by  Hugh  Johnson, 
what  a  change  has  taken  place  in  the  boy's  character. 
He  has  developed  mentally  as  much  as  he  has  physi- 
cally. He  has  gained  balance,  self-reliance;  is  sensible 
beyond  his  years  in  all  matters  that  pertain  to  the  out- 
door life,  and  is  already,  in  many  essentials,  a  man 
and  a  good  companion,  so  far  as  his  strength  goes,  in 
any  situation  where  hard  work,  judgment,  coolness, 
and  discretion  are  required.  All  this  means  a  great 
deal,  more  perhaps  than  any  of  us  quite  understand. 
If  the  boy  had  never  gone  west,  he  might  have  had 
a  greater  share  of  book  learning,  might  have  been 
further  advanced  toward  entering  college ;  but  also,  he 
might  have  been  dead,  and  certainly  he  would  have 
been  very  different  in  appearance  from  what  he  is  now. 
You  two  had  better  think  over  the  question  of  this  trip. 
It  will  mean  for  the  boy  another  summer  spent  out 
of  doors,  in  surroundings  that  are  wholly  new  to  him. 
The  life  will  be  one  of  hard  work  whether  they  make 
a  canoe  trip,  or  a  hunt;  and  it  certainly  will  do  them 
good.  Then,  of  course,  it  will  give  him  a  great  deal 
of  pleasure,  will  enlarge  his  ideas,  and  will  be,  in  all 
respects,  helpful  to  him.  Now,  think  it  over,  and  when 
you  are  ready  we  will  talk  it  over  again." 

During  the  months  of  the  winter,  the  subject  had 


26  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

often  been  brought  up.  Jack,  when  he  was  consulted, 
was,  of  course,  eager  to  go,  doubly  so  after  he 
had  learned  that  his  uncle  proposed  to  take  Hugh 
Johnson  along.  At  last  his  parents  consented  to  his 
going. 

In  the  spring  Mr.  Sturgis  went  west  to  the  ranch, 
as  was  his  custom,  and  arrangements  were  made  for 
Jack  to  come  west  over  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
as  soon  as  school  had  closed. 

On  the  appointed  day,  the  train  bearing  Jack  drew 
up  at  the  little  station  nearest  to  Mr.  Sturgis's  ranch, 
and  Jack's  uncle  and  Hugh  Johnson  stepped  on  board 
the  train,  while  Jack  waved  an  enthusiastic  greeting 
to  Joe,  who  sat  in  the  wagon  that  had  brought  them 
from  the  ranch. 

Then  the  three  travellers  sped  on  westward,  plung- 
ing through  the  Wasatch  Mountains,  and  at  length 
reached  the  Great  Salt  Lake  Basin.  They  stopped  for 
a  day  at  Salt  Lake  City,  interesting  for  its  beauty,  its 
surroundings  of  great  mountains,  and  its  wonderful 
lake.  Jack  had  a  swim  in  Salt  Lake,  and  though  he 
had  been  warned  about  it,  experienced  a  curious  sen- 
sation in  swimming  in  its  waters,  it  being  impossible 
for  him  to  sink.  He  swam  about,  or  stood  upright 
with  his  whole  head  out  of  the  water,  but  found  that 
diving  was  very  difficult.  Then,  as  he  began  to  dry 
off,  after  coming  out  of  the  water,  it  was  curious  to 
feel  his  skin  become  rough  with  a  crust  of  salt  which 
had  to  be  washed  off  with  fresh  water  before  he  could 
dress. 

As  they  w^ere  going  back  to  the  city  on  the  railroad 
Jack  said  to  his  uncle :  ''  I  wish  you  would  tell  me, 
Uncle  George,  why  this  lake  is  so  salt.  Of  course  I 
have  heard  you  say  that  it  has  no  outlet  and  that  the 
rivers  which  flow  into  it  are  constantly  bringing  down 
a  little  salt  in  solution,  which,  in  the  course  of  many 
ages  has  become  concentrated  in  the  lake;   but  is  that 


BRITISH    COLUMBIA  27 

the  whole  story  ?  It  does  n't  seem  to  me  enough  to 
account  for  it  all." 

''  It  is  n't,  Jack ;  you  are  quite  right  about  that.  The 
Salt  Lake  Basin,  of  which  the  Great  Salt  Lake  now 
occupies  but  a  comparatively  small  portion,  is  simply 
the  bed  of  another  far  older  and  grander  sheet  of  water 
that  was  once  here,  which  the  geologists  called  Lake 
Bonneville.  If  you  take  the  trouble  to  look  along  the 
mountains  while  we  are  here  you  can  see,  at  various 
levels,  the  terraces  which  indicate  the  height,  on  the 
mountains,  of  the  waters  of  that  inland  sea  at  different 
periods.  You  will  see,  and  in  fact  you  can  see  from 
here,"  and  he  pointed  tow^ard  the  mountains,  "  these 
terraces  running  straight  along  the  mountain  sides, 
hundreds  of  feet  above  the  level  of  the  plain.  Now, 
Lake  Bonneville  was  far  larger  than  any  body  of  water 
that  now  exists  on  this  continent.  Its  outlet  was  to 
the  northwest,  in  Idaho,  toward  Snake  River;  and  it 
extended  southward  for  several  hundred  miles.  At 
last  a  time  came,  when,  by  the  elevation  of  the  land, 
this  outlet  was  cut  off,  and  we  had  a  body  of  water 
without  any  outlet.  Gradually  evaporation,  working 
for  centuries,  dried  up  this  lake,  and  now  all  that  re- 
mains of  it  is  the  Salt  Lake,  in  which  we  have  just 
been  swimming.  In  that  water  is  concentrated  much 
of  all  of  the  salt  and  soda  that  was  in  the  greater  lake, 
as  well  as  much  of  that  brought  down  by  the  streams 
during  the  ages  that  have  passed  since  the  old  outlet 
closed  up.  Even  Salt  Lake  is  believed  to  be  steadily 
growing  smaller,  drying  up,  and  the  flats  around  its 
border  are  now  so  full  of  salt  and  of  alkali  of  one 
kind  and  another  that  they  are  wholly  infertile  and 
cannot  be  farmed. 

''  The  Mormons  have  made  out  of  the  valley  of  the 
lake,  however,  a  perfect  garden  spot.  Once  it  was  a 
sage  desert,  as  barren  as  anything  that  you  have  ever 
been  over,  more  so  perhaps.     Now  you  can  see  for 


28  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

yourself  what  grows  here,  —  wheat,  rye,  barley,  oats, 
green  stretches  of  graceful  corn,  great  patches  of 
potatoes,  orchards  and  hay  fields ;  and  to  me  it  seems 
more  like  one  of  the  farming  States  east  of  the  Mis- 
souri than  it  does  like  a  sage  desert." 

"  Well,  that  is  mighty  interesting,  Uncle  George, 
and  I  am  glad  to  hear  it.  I  sometimes  think  that  I 
would  like  mighty  well  to  study  geology.  It  seems  as 
if  the  history  of  the  earth  we  're  living  on  ought  to  be 
as  interesting  a  subject  as  one  could  take  up." 

From  Salt  Lake  the  travellers  hurried  west,  and 
before  very  long  found  themselves  at  San  Francisco. 
From  there  a  steamer  took  them  north  along  the  rough 
and  dangerous  coasts  of  California,  Oregon,  and 
Washington  to  the  Strait  of  Fuca  and  Puget  Sound, 
where  Mr.  Sturgis  left  them;  and  finally  to  Victoria. 
Before  the  three  parted,  it  had  been  decided  that  Jack 
and  Hugh  should  get  a  canoe  and  some  Indians  and 
make  a  trip  through  the  Gulf  of  Georgia;  and  re- 
turning, should  meet  Mr.  Sturgis  in  Tacoma,  Washing- 
ton, whence  they  would  return  to  the  East. 

It  was  almost  sun-down,  when  the  steamer  which 
bore  Jack  and  Hugh  approached  the  wharf  at  Nev/ 
Westminster.  After  they  had  entered  the  mouth  of 
the  Eraser  River  the  ride  had  still  been  very  interest- 
ing, for  on  either  side  of  the  steamer  appeared  at 
intervals  great  barn-like  wooden  buildings,  which  some 
of  the  passengers  on  board  explained  were  salmon 
canning  factories.  Loitering  about  these  were  a  few 
Chinamen,  apparently  attached  to  the  factories;  but 
not  many  people  were  about,  for  as  yet  the  salmon  had 
not  begun  to  run. 

As  the  boat  drew  up  to  the  wharf,  a  good  many  peo- 
ple from  the  town  sat,  awaiting  its  landing.  Among 
these,  Hugh  and  Jack  noticed  a  tall,  well-built  man, 
who  seemed  to  keep  his  eyes  constantly  fixed  on  them. 
At  last  he  bowed,  and  waved  his  hand,  to  which  salu- 


BRITISH    COLUMBIA  29 

tation  they  responded.  They  wondered  who  it  could 
be,  for  they  did  not  know  that  Mr.  MacTavish  had  tele- 
graphed to  Mr.  James  to  look  out  for  the  travellers  on 
this  boat.  As  soon  as  the  gang-plank  was  run  out, 
Mr.  James  boarded  the  vessel,  and  coming  up  to  them 
introduced  himself.  He  took  them  to  the  hotel ;  and, 
seeing  that  they  had  comfortable  rooms,  left  them 
there,  saying  that  he  would  come  back  a  little  later 
and  take  them  up  to  spend  the  evening  at  his  house. 

Two  or  three  hours  later  the  three  were  climbing  the 
road,  on  their  way  to  Mr.  James's  house  which  was 
situated  among  the  stumps  of  the  ancient  forest,  which 
still  stood  in  the  suburbs  of  the  town.  Here  they  spent 
a  delightful  evening,  and  before  they  parted  for  the 
night  it  was  arranged  that  the  next  morning  Mr. 
Hughes  should  take  Jack  out  for  a  little  hunt,  and  try 
and  show  him  one  of  the  deer  of  the  country. 

"  We  don't  hunt  here,"  said  Mr.  James,  ''  as  you 
do  back  in  the  States,  because  we  cannot.  If  it  were 
practicable,  I  should  prefer,  as  I  should  think  most 
people  would,  to  go  out  and  take  up  a  deer's  track, 
follow  him  until  I  got  within  range  and  then,  if  I 
could,  kill  him;  but  that  is  impossible  in  the  forests 
we  have  here.  The  trees  grow  over  three  hundred 
feet  in  height;  there  is  much  fallen  timber  in  the 
woods,  and  the  logs  are  from  four  to  ten  feet  thick. 
Besides  that,  the  great  precipitation  produces  such  a 
heavy  undergrowth  that  it  is  impossible  to  go  through 
it  noiselessly.  Therefore,  if  we  want  deer  we  are 
obliged  here,  to  run  the  game  into  the  water  with 
dogs,  and  kill  them  there.  It  is  not  a  sport  that  I 
greatly  esteem,  but  at  least  wx  can  kill  an  occasional 
deer  when  we  want  venison." 

*'  I  should  like  very  much  to  see  it  done  once,  Mr. 
James,"  said  Jack,  "  as  most  of  my  hunting  has  been 
done  in  running  buffalo,  or  finding  my  game  and 
crawling  up  to  it ;  and  I  have  been  taught  that  was  the 


30         JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

most  sportsmanlike  way  to  do  it.  Yet,  at  the  same  time, 
it  is  easy  to  see  that  it  cannot  be  done  in  a  country  such 
as  you  describe." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  guess  I  '11  let  you  two  go  and 
do  your  hunting  to-morrow  morning  alone.  I  don't 
think  that  it 's  worth  while  for  me  to  go  and  see  a  deer 
shot  over  in  the  water.  Maybe  I  '11  get  up  and  walk 
out  there  with  you,  though.  I  'd  like  to  stretch  my 
legs  after  having  been  in  that  boat  for  so  many  days." 

Before  they  parted,  then,  it  was  agreed  that  Hugh 
and  Jack  should  present  themselves  at  Mr.  James's 
house  next  morning  as  near  to  four  o'clock  as  possible, 
when  they  would  start  to  hunt  for  a  deer  near  Mirror 
Lake. 


CHAPTER   III 

A  MYSTERIOUS  WATER  MONSTER 

It  was  still  black  night  when  Hugh  and  Jack  ar- 
rived at  Mr.  James's,  about  four  o'clock  the  next 
morning.  He  was  waiting  for  them,  and,  seated  on 
the  floor  near  the  stove  in  the  dining-room  where  he 
had  been  eating  his  breakfast,  was  an  Indian,  whom 
he  introduced  as  Squawitch  — ''  The  Sturgeon,"  as 
Mr.   James  explained. 

By  the  time  they  had  left  the  house  the  eastern  sky 
had  begun  to  pale,  and  day  was  at  hand.  It  promised 
to  be  a  perfect  one.  The  sky  was  cloudless  and  no  fog 
obscured  the  view.  In  the  east,  above  the  jagged 
and  broken  summits  of  the  Pitt  River  Mountains,  the 
stars  were  disappearing.  The  sky  was  beginning  to 
grow  gray  and  then  to  flush  and  glow,  each  instant 
becoming  brighter.  They  walked  at  a  brisk  pace, 
at  first  climbing  the  hill  and  then  passing  along 
the  level  lands  of  the  plateau.  The  three  white  men 
walked  side  by  side  in  advance,  and  behind  them 
came  the  Indian,  leading  three  splendid  hounds,  which 
from  time  to  time  tugged  at  their  chains  or  whimpered 
as  some  scent  from  the  forest  met  their  nostrils.  The 
air  was  cool,  fresh,  and  exhilarating.  A  gentle  breeze 
just  moved  the  branches  of  the  great  trees,  which  were 
far  larger  than  any  Hugh  or  Jack  had  ever  seen. 

From  the  recesses  of  the  tangled  forests  came  the 
sweet  balsamic  odors  of  firs  and  cedars,  mingled  with 
the  faint  damp  smell  of  decaying  vegetation,  so  char- 
acteristic of  the  forest  in  all  climates.  To  Jack  and 
Hugh  all  the  trees  and  all  the  plants  were  new.    They 


32  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

wondered  at  the  vast  size  and  height  of  the  tree  trunks, 
admired  the  maples  with  their  large  leaves,  the  thick 
tangle  of  underbrush,  and  beneath  all  the  great  ferns, 
higher  than  a  man's  head.  They  were  passing  be- 
tween high  walls  of  foliage,  extending  far  above 
them  on  either  side.  Above  was  a  narrow  strip  of 
blue  sky  and  before  them  the  yellow  road.  Multitudes 
of  bright  bits  of  color  appeared  along  the  roadside. 
The  fireweed,  familiar  everywhere  in  the  mountains, 
shone  like  a  tongue  of  flame  against  a  background  of 
green.  Here  and  there,  in  wet  springy  places,  the 
foxglove  nodded  its  tall  spikes  of  red  or  white  blooms ; 
and  besides  this  there  were  many  other  flowers,  all 
beautiful,  but  not  known  by  name  to  the  travellers. 
One  beautiful  white  low-growing  flower  attracted 
Jack's  attention,  and  he  dropped  on  his  knees  to  ex- 
amine it,  declaring  that  it  must  be  some  sort  of  dog- 
wood, so  closely  did  it  resemble  —  except  in  size  — 
the  ordinary  white  flowering  dogwood  of  the  Eastern 
States.  There  were  also  berries  of  many  colors,  and 
in  great  abundance.  Many  of  these  Mr.  James  named 
for  them  as  they  passed  along;  salmon  berries,  red 
or  yellow,  blackberries,  green  and  red,  and  blueberries 
of  several  kinds ;  the  purple  salal,  the  velvet  berry,  the 
scarlet  and  as  yet  unripe  panicles  of  the  elder,  and  the 
brilliant  fruit  of  the  umbrella  plant  were  all  there,  and 
were  constantly  inviting  them  to  stop  and  admire  their 
beauties. 

To  Mr.  James,  who  had  lived  in  the  country  for 
many  years,  these  sights  were  commonplace.  To 
Hugh  and  Jack  they  were  all  remarkable  and  each 
one  seemed  to  demand  an  explanation.  But  there  was 
no  time  for  that.  Mr.  James  and  the  Indian  had  set 
their  hearts  on  getting  a  deer,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  step  briskly  to  reach  the  hunting  grounds  before  the 
sun  had  dried  off  the  moisture  and  "  killed  "  the  scent. 
They  walked  so  fast  that  there  was  little  opportunity 


A   MYSTERIOUS    WATER   MONSTER      33 

for  conversation.  Nevertheless,  Jack  found  time  to  ask 
some  questions. 

''  I  can  see,  Mr.  James,"  Jack  said,  "  by  looking 
into  this  timber,  how  impossible  it  would  be  to  hunt 
here  in  the  way  in  which  we  do  in  the  Eastern  States 
or  on  the  plains.  In  the  first  place,  the  underbrush 
is  so  thick  that  one  could  not  see  any  distance ;  and,  in 
the  second  place,  it  would  be  impossible  to  go  along 
without  making  so  much  noise  that  the  deer  would  hear 
one." 

"  That 's  precisely  the  fact,"  said  Mr.  James,  "  and 
therefore,  as  I  told  you  last  night,  the  only  way  in 
which  we  can  get  deer  here  is  by  putting  dogs  on  the 
track.  There  are  many  places  on  the  islands  of  the 
Gulf,  where  the  country  is  open  enough  so  that  one 
can  hunt  on  foot  quietly,  as  we  used  to  do  where  I 
lived  back  in  Canada,  with  a  good  prospect  of  getting 
an  occasional  shot,  but  that  cannot  be  done  here.  Then, 
too,  there  are  plenty  of  places  along  the  coast  where 
the  deer  come  down  from  the  mountains  to  feed  on  the 
grass  near  the  edge  of  the  salt  water,  or  to  eat  the 
dulse,  —  a  sort  of  seaweed  thrown  up  by  the  sea,  —  and 
where  they  can  be  shot  from  a  canoe.  The  Indians 
kill  a  great  many  in  this  way ;  but,  except  in  winter, 
when  they  are  driven  down  from  the  mountains  by  the 
heavy  snows,  that  is  not  a  method  that  is  very  certain." 

''If  we  make  a  canoe  trip  along  the  coast,  as  we 
were  talking  of  doing,  there  might  be  a  chance  of 
getting  deer  along  the  shore,  then  ?  "  queried  Jack. 

"  Yes,  you  are  very  likely  to  do  that,"  said  Mr. 
James,  "  and  quite  likely,  also,  to  see  a  bear  in  such 
a  situation;  for  the  bears  often  come  down  to  the 
shore  there,  to  feed  on  the  seaweed,  or  to  go  along 
the  beach  hunting  for  fish  or  food  of  any  kind  that 
may  have  been  thrown  up  by  the  sea.  Almost  all  the 
animals  in  this  country,  certainly  all  carnivorous  ani- 
mals,   depend   more  or   less   on  the   beach   for   their 

3 


34  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

living;  and  often  in  the  morning,  if  you  go  along  the 
shore,  you  will  see  the  tracks  of  bears,  foxes,  wolves, 
deer,  and  perhaps  two  or  three  other  species  of  animals 
that  have  gone  along  during  the  night.  The  beach  is 
a  pretty  good  hunting  ground ;  and  if  you  make  your 
proposed  trip  you  will  find,  all  along,  trails  leading 
down  from  the  hills  to  the  water." 

For  some  little  time  Hugh  had  been  walking  be- 
hind the  others,  by  the  side  of  the  Indian,  and  trying 
to  talk  to  him  in  sign  language ;  but,  though  occasion- 
ally the  Indian  seemed  to  comprehend  his  gestures,  it 
was  evident  that  he  was  not  a  sign  talker.  Presently 
Hugh  spoke  to  Mr.  James,  and  said :  ^'  I  like  these 
dogs  you  have  here,  Mr.  James;  they  remind  me  of 
the  hounds  we  used  to  run  foxes  down  in  Kentucky 
when  I  was  a  boy.  Two  of  them  are  as  handsome 
hounds  as  I  ever  saw ;  and  the  other  one,  while  not  so 
good  a  hound,  looks  as  if  he  were  smart  enough  to 
keep  up  his  end  of  the  running  all  the  time." 

"  You  have  hit  it  exactly,  Mr.  Johnson,"  said  their 
owner.  "  Each  of  these  dogs  has  its  good  points. 
Captain  and  Dinah  are  pretty  nearly  perfect  to  look 
at.  Captain  has  the  best  nose  of  any  hound  I  ever  saw, 
and  a  voice  like  a  trumpet.  Dinah's  nose  is  not  quite 
so  good  as  Captain's,  but  she  is  considerably  faster. 
Wallace,  as  you  say,  does  not  look  much  like  a  hound, 
but  he  is  fast  and  the  very  best  fighter  in  the  lot,  and  he 
is  smart  enough  to  know  a  good  part  of  the  time  which 
way  the  deer  is  going,  and  to  cut  in  ahead  of  the  others 
and  take  the  trail;  and  often  he  catches  the  deer 
alone.  He  is  a  great  fighter ;  and  if  he  once  gets  hold 
of  a  deer,  he  will  surely  kill  it.  I  had  the  dogs  out  on 
one  of  the  inlets  last  year,  and  was  in  a  canoe  on  the 
water,  myself,  and  I  saw  Wallace  overtake  a  deer, 
running  along  a  narrow  ledge  on  the  face  of  the  cliff, 
sixty  feet  above  the  water.  Wallace  caught  up  with 
the  deer,   grabbed  him  and  threw  him  off  the  cliff. 


A    MYSTERIOUS    WATER   MONSTER 


35 


He  did  n't  let  go,  and  the  two  fell  into  the  water  below. 
I  have  always  thought  that  Wallace  would  have  been 
killed  if  I  had  not  been  there  in  the  canoe  to  come  up 
and  kill  the  deer." 

''  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  suppose  it 's  because  I  used 
to  see  so  much  of  them  when  I  was  a  youngster,  but 
there  's  no  sort  of  dog  I  like  so  well  as  a  hound.  The 
long  muzzle,  and  those  great  long  flapping  ears  and  sad 
eyes  always  go  right  to  my  heart.  If  I  ever  have  a 
place  of  my  own  and  can  afford  it,  I  will  surely  have 
two  or  three  good  hounds;  not  to  hunt  with,  but  just 
for  company." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  James,  "  they  are  mighty  nice  dogs, 
hounds  are ;  but  for  myself,  I  like  any  kind  of  a  dog. 
Just  at  present  I  have  none  except  these  three.  But  I 
want  to  get  a  good  bird  dog;  and  I  can  tell  you  that 
is  something  hard  to  get  in  this  country." 

By  this  time  the  sun  was  up  and  the  brisk  walk 
was  making  all  hands  wipe  the  perspiration  from  their 
brows.  Presently  they  came  to  a  little  trail  off  to 
the  left  of  the  road,  and  here  they  paused;  while 
Mr.  James  said  a  few  words  in  the  Chinook  jargon 
to  the  Indian,  who,  with  the  dogs,  disappeared  in  the 
forest. 

*'  Now,"  said  Mr.  James,  ''  we  are  only  a  little  way 
from  the  lake,  and  I  have  sent  the  Indian  off  to  start 
the  dogs.  We  may  as  well  walk  down  to  where  the 
canoe  is  and  wait  for  him  there." 

''  Well,  son,"  said  Hugh,  "  you  go  on  wnth  Mr. 
James  and  kill  that  deer  if  you  can.  I  reckon  I  '11 
walk  on  a  little  farther  along  this  road,  and  look  at 
these  trees  and  flowers ;  and  then  I  '11  turn  around 
and  go  back  to  the  town.  I  don't  care  much  about 
looking  on  while  you  folks  kill  that  deer.  I  'd  rather 
look  at  this  timber,  and  smell  the  scents  that  come 
out  of  it,  and  see  these  posies  that  seem  to  be  growing 
everywhere.     If  you  don't  strike  me  on  the  road  on 


36  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

your  way  back,  why,  I  '11  be  at  the  hotel  when  you 
get  there." 

*'  Do  just  what  you  wish,  Mr.  Johnson,"  said  Mr. 
James ;  ''  but  I  'd  like  to  have  you  come,  if  you  feel 
like  it.  There 's  plenty  of  room  for  three  in  the 
canoe,  and  we  can  leave  the  Indian  on  shore,  and  do 
our  own  paddling." 

"  No,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  guess  I  '11  have  more  fun 
looking  at  all  these  strange  things  around  me  than  I 
would  have  if  I  w^ent  in  the  canoe.  Jack  will  be  safe 
with  you,  and  we  '11  meet  again  later  in  the  day." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  James,  ''  of  course  we  will.  I  want 
to  have  you  come  up  and  take  dinner  with  me  at  noon ; 
and  then  in  the  afternoon  we  will  go  over  to  Burrard 
Inlet  and  see  Fannin.  You  will  like  him.  He  is  one 
of  the  finest  fellows  in  the  world,  and  it  will  be  a 
great  thing  for  you  if  you  can  get  him  to  go  with  you 
pn  your  trip." 

*'  Oh !  I  hope  we  can !  "  cried  Jack ;  while  Hugh 
said :  ^'  I  hope  so  too."  Then  they  parted,  and  Mr. 
James  and  Jack  plunged  into  the  forest  while  Hugh 
walked  briskly  off  along  the  road.  A  few  minutes^ 
walk  brought  them  to  the  border  of  a  beautiful  little 
lake  in  the  woods,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  high 
forest.  On  its  shores  they  sat  down;  and  while  Mr. 
James  lit  his  pipe  he  talked  and  told  Jack  something 
about  this  sheet  of  water. 

"  We  call  it  Mirror  Lake,"  said  he,  "  and  on  a 
morning  like  this  you  can  easily  see  how  well  the  name 
fits  it,  for  everything  is  reflected  in  the  smooth  water. 
It  is  always  a  good  place  to  get  a  deer,  for  scarcely 
anybody  hunts  here.  The  Indians  never  by  any  chance 
go  on  it.  They  think  that  down  under  the  water  there 
lives  what  they  call  a  selallicum  —  that  means  a  super- 
natural monster.  Just  what  sort  of  a  creature  this 
is  the  Indians  do  not  seem  to  know ;  but  it  is  some 
kind  of  an  evil  spirit  that  lives  at  the  bottom  of  the 


A  MYSTERIOUS  WATER  MONSTER 


Z7 


lake;  and  when  anybody  goes  out  on  the  water  in  a 
canoe  this  monster  rises  to  the  surface,  upsets  the 
canoe,  and  swallows  the  people  that  are  in  it.  The 
behef  in  this  monster  is  held  by  all  the  Indians.  They 
won't  go  out  on  the  lake.  They  won't  even  go  near 
its  margin  when  they  are  gathering  berries.  They 
think  that  I  am  a  fool  for  daring  to  go  out  on  it; 
and  they  say  that  some  day  the  monster  will  rise 
and  surely  get  me."  Pausing  a  moment,  the  speaker 
continued : 

"  One  time,  when  I  was  hunting  on  the  lake  I  was 
careless  in  the  canoe  and  upset,  and  my  gun  sank  to 
the  bottom,  and,  of  course,  I  never  got  it  again.  The 
Indians  hearing  of  this  told  me  that  the  selallicum 
had  given  me  a  warning  not  to  come  on  the  lake 
again,  and  that  I  had  better  respect  this  warning. 
There  is  only  one  Indian  in  the  whole  country  who 
will  go  out  on  the  lake,  and  that  is  Squawitch  here. 
He  is  an  old  friend  of  mine,  and  has  lots  of  confidence 
in  me.  But  even  he  will  never  enter  a  canoe  except  in 
my  company.  I  don't  know  just  how  he  reasons  about 
the  matter ;  whether  he  thinks  that  I  have  some  strong 
medicine  which  enables  me  to  defy  this  monster  or 
not;  but  he  has  been  hunting  here  with  me  many 
times  and  is  always  ready  to  go  again.  This  morning, 
though,  he  told  me  that  an  Indian  had  seen  the  selalli- 
cum on  the  lake  within  two  or  three  weeks." 

Mr.  James  paused  to  refill  his  pipe,  and  as  they  sat 
there  for  a  moment  silent,  suddenly  the  faint  cry  of  the 
hounds  was  heard  in  the  distance,  and  Mr.  James 
said  :  ''  There !   hear  that  ?    That 's  Captain.    Listen !  " 

Presently  the  shriller  cry  of  Dinah  made  itself  heard, 
and  as  they  sat  listening  to  the  cry  of  the  hounds,  which 
gradually  grew  more  and  more  faint,  Squawitch  parted 
the  bushes  near  them,  and,  walking  along  a  log  toward 
the  water,  drew  from  the  low  brush  a  canoe  and  two 
paddles.     He  stepped  into  the  canoe,  pushed  it  ashore, 


38  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

and  signing  Mr.  James  and  Jack  to  step  in,  took  his 
seat  in  the  stern.  Mr.  James  took  the  bow  paddle  and 
Jack  seated  himself  amidship.  Then,  with  a  stroke  or 
two  of  the  paddles,  the  canoe  shot  out  of  the  little  cove 
on  to  the  unruffled  surface  of  Mirror  Lake. 

Certainly  it  well  deserved  its  name!  Only  a  few 
hundred  yards  in  width  and  less  than  a  mile  long,  it 
was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  superb  forest  of 
gigantic  firs.  Along  its  margin  grew  a  narrow  border 
of  grass  or  low  willows,  separating  the  border  from 
the  dark  forest;  and  beyond  that  border  a  fringe  of 
lily  pads  floated  motionless  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 
The  little  strip  of  grass,  the  tall  green  trees,  and  the 
blue  sky  above  were  so  perfectly  reflected  in  the  clear 
water  that  Jack  could  hardly  tell  where  the  reflection 
ended  and  the  vegetation  began.  Shut  in  on  all  sides 
by  the  vast  untouched  forests,  the  lake  lay  there  like 
a  great  eye  that  gazed  steadfastly  and  unwinkingly  at 
the  sky  which  it  mirrored.  The  light  breeze  had  fallen 
as  the  sun  rose,  and  there  was  now  not  the  slightest 
motion  on  the  water.  The  stillness  was  unbroken  for  a 
time,  and  they  sat  listening  for  the  cry  of  the  hounds. 

The  different  inhabitants  of  the  lake  and  forest,  ply- 
ing their  usual  vocations,  soon  began  to  reveal  to  the 
boy  from  the  East  glimpses  of  their  life  history. 

An  old  mother  golden-eyed  duck  led  her  brood  of 
half  a  dozen  from  among  some  low  willows  and  began 
to  teach  them  how  to  procure  their  food ;  calling  to 
them  now  and  then  in  low  lisping  tones,  to  which  the 
little  ones  responded  with  soft  peeping  cries.  At  one 
side  of  the  lake  a  little  pine  squirrel  was  gathering 
his  winter  store  of  green  fir  cones,  which  he  cut  from 
the  tree  and  dropped  to  the  ground  with  a  great  deal 
of  noise.  So  great  in  fact  was  the  noise,  that  when  it 
first  began  Jack  was  sorely  tempted  to  ask  Mr.  James 
what  it  was ;  but  by  listening  he  made  out  the  cause 
for  himself,  and  so  was  glad  that  he  had  not  inquired. 


A   MYSTERIOUS    WATER   MONSTER 


39 


Suddenly  over  the  tops  of  the  bordering  trees  a  pair 
of  superb  white-headed  eagles  flew  silently  across  the 
lake,  the  hindermost  seeming  to  strive  to  overtake  the 
one  in  advance.  But  when  this  happened  the  foremost 
bird,  without  closing  his  wings,  swung  over  on  his 
back,  thrust  out  his  talons  threateningly  toward  his 
pursuer,  and  then  turned  over  again,  flew  onward  and 
out  of  sight.  A  little  later  two  loons  settled  in  the 
water  not  far  from  the  canoe  and  began  to  call  on  each 
other  with  loud  mournful  cries.  It  was  useless  now 
to  listen  for  the  hounds,  for  the  loons  made  so  much 
noise  that  nothing  else  could  be  heard;  but  at  length 
they  took  wing  and  disappeared. 

Now  that  silence  had  again  fallen  over  the  lake,  the 
cry  of  hounds  could  be  heard  once  more,  though  far 
off  and  very  faint.  At  length  the  sound  came  nearer 
and  nearer,  passing  the  west  end  of  the  lake,  and  again 
grew  fainter  and  at  last  was  lost. 

Mr.  James  had  just  said  with  an  air  of  disappoint- 
ment that  he  feared  the  deer  had  taken  water  in 
Burnaby  Lake,  when  Jack  heard  the  Indian  speak  in 
suppressed  but  very  emphatic  tones  to  his  companion. 
Following  the  direction  of  their  eyes.  Jack  saw  some- 
thing slowly  moving  through  the  water  at  the  other 
end  of  the  lake.  What  it  was  he  could  not  tell.  Cer- 
tainly it  did  not  look  like  anything  that  he  had  ever 
seen  before.  As  much  as  anything,  however,  it  re- 
sembled a  wooden  box  two  or  three  feet  square,  float- 
ing on  the  surface  of  the  water ;  but,  of  course,  a  box 
would  not  be  found  in  such  a  situation,  and  would  not 
move.  Jack  took  it  for  granted  that  it  was  a  deer, 
because  he  could  not  think  of  any  other  living  thing 
likely  to  be  in  that  place  at  that  time.  There  was  one 
man  in  the  canoe,  however,  who  evidently  did  not 
think  that  it  was  a  deer,  and  was  very  much  excited 
about  it.     That  was  the  Indian. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE   COBBLER    NATURALIST   OF   BURRARD   INLET 

As  soon  as  the  moving  object  appeared  Mr.  James 
had  dipped  his  paddle  into  the  water  and  given  a  hasty 
stroke.  The  Indian  did  not  move,  but  in  a  low  voice 
said  to  Mr.  James  in  the  Chinook  jargon:  ''What  is 
that  there  in  the  water  ?  " 

"The  deer,"  said  Mr.  James;  "paddle!" 

"  No,"  said  Squawitch,  "  it  is  not  the  deer,  it  is  the 
monster.  Yes,  it  is  a  true  monster.  We  must  go  to 
the  shore  at  once,  or  we  shall  all  be  killed."  And  he 
dipped  his  paddle  into  the  water  as  if  to  turn  the 
canoe  to  the  shore. 

"  Keep  still,"  said  Mr.  James.  "  I  tell  you  it  is  the 
deer."  And  then,  the  moving  object  having  by  this 
time  turned  well  out  into  the  lake,  he  added :  "  Mam- 
mook"  (pull).  Giving  a  powerful  stroke  with  his 
paddle,  the  canoe  shot  forward  toward  the  mysterious 
thing.  Jack  was  listening  to  what  was  said,  but  did 
not  understand  the  spoken  words.  He  could  see,  how- 
ever, that  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion  between 
his  companions  as  to  what  should  be  done.  He  thought 
he  noticed,  too,  that  the  first  few  strokes  given  by  the 
Indian  were  weak  and  did  little  to  force  the  canoe 
forward ;  but  if  they  were  not  strong  they  were  at 
least  noiseless.  Meantime,  with  all  his  eyes.  Jack  was 
watching  the  mysterious  object;  and  as  the  canoe 
advanced  toward  it  the  mystery  explained  itself  in  a 
very  simple  way,  and  the  Indian's  fears  were  calmed. 
They  coulcf  soon  make  out  a  fine  buck  swimming 
slowly  through  the  water,  and  could  see  that  about  his 


THE    COBBLER   NATURALIST  41 

horns  were  twined  some  long  sprays  of  fern,  which 
overshadowed  his  head,  and,  falhng  down  behind  the 
horns,  trailed  through  the  water.  The  reflection  cast 
by  this  mass  of  green,  and  the  ripple  of  the  water 
behind  and  on  each  side  of  the  swimming  animal,  made 
the  object  vague  and  indefinite,  and  the  whole  w^as 
further  blurred  by  the  reflection  of  the  trees  near  the 
margin  of  the  lake.  So,  until  they  had  come  close  to 
it,  it  was  hard  to  tell  wdiat  it  was,  and  its  mysterious 
appearance  was,  naturally  enough,  very  alarming  to 
one  who  was  prepared  to  see  something  supernatural. 
The  Indian  believed  thoroughly  in  the  existence  of  the 
selallicum  in  this  lake,  and,  seeing  in  the  water  some- 
thing unlike  anything  that  he  had  ever  beheld  before, 
at  once  concluded  that  the  monster  had  appeared. 

The  slender  canoe  flew  swiftly  over  the  water  and 
rapidly  drew  near  the  deer,  which  had  not  yet  seen 
them,  but  was  swimming  quietly  along,  no  doubt  tired 
by  its  long  run.  Jack,  not  burdened  with  a  paddle, 
and  having  nothing  to  do  but  hold  his  rifle,  studied  the 
creature  as  they  drew  near,  and  saw  that  it  bore  a  fine 
pair  of  horns,  still  in  the  velvet. 

The  canoe  w^as  within  twenty  yards  of  the  deer 
before  the  animal  saw  them.  When  he  did  so,  he  at 
once  turned  toward  the  shore,  and  swam  rapidly  — 
almost  as  fast  as  the  canoe  went.  Just  before  he 
reached  the  land,  Mr.  James  said  to  Jack :  **  Now  be 
ready,  and  kill  him  as  he  leaves  the  water." 

Jack  rose  carefully  to  his  knees,  put  a  cartridge  in 
his  rifle  and,  as  the  deer  bounded  up  the  bank,  fired. 
The  shot  broke  the  deer's  neck,  and  it  fell  on  the 
bank  just  at  the  edge  of  the  water. 

When  he  saw  it  fall  Jack  felt  sorry  that  he  had  shot. 
Though  there  was  sweet  music  in  the  bay  of  the  hounds 
as  they  ran,  interest  in  watching  for  the  deer,  hope  as 
the  cry  of  the  dogs  grew  louder,  anxiety  lest  the  quarry 
had  turned  aside  and  gone  away  as  the  baying  grew 


42  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

fainter,  and  some  excitement  in  paddling  after  the 
animal,  yet  he  did  not  like  this  method  of  hunting. 
After  the  deer  had  taken  to  the  water  and  the  boat 
had  approached  it,  it  seemed  as  if  the  animal  had  no 
chance,  and  Jack  lost  pleasure  in  the  shot,  because  he 
had  too  much  time  to  think  about  it.  The  struggle 
that  the  deer  made  to  reach  the  shore  excited  his  sym- 
pathies, and  now  he  regretted  the  shot  that  he  had 
fired.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  easy  to  see,  as  Mr. 
James  had  pointed  out,  that  in  such  a  land  as  this  still- 
hunting  was  impossible. 

The  deer  having  been  secured,  the  task  of  transport- 
ing it  to  town  was  left  to  the  Indian,  who  would  drag 
or  carry  it  out  to  the  road  and  wait  there  for  the  stage 
which  would  come  in  during  the  morning. 

Mr.  James  and  Jack  started  on  foot  for  New  West- 
minster, and  when  they  had  nearly  reached  there  they 
overtook  Hugh,  who  had  had  his  walk  and  was  now 
going  back  to  breakfast.  But  little  was  said  as  to  the 
killing  of  the  deer,  beyond  the  fact  that  one  had  been 
secured;  and  just  before  they  reached  Mr.  James's 
house  the  latter  said  to  them :  "  Now,  gentlemen,  if 
you  feel  like  it,  let  us  take  the  stage  this  afternoon 
and  go  over  to  Burrard  Inlet,  where  you  can  make 
Fannin's  acquaintance  and  see  what  you  can  do  with 
him.  I  am  anxious  to  have  you  meet  him,  for  he  is  one 
of  the  salt  of  the  earth.  No  man  in  the  Province 
knows  SO'  much  about  its  birds  and  mammals  as  he, 
and  no  man  can  show  you  and  tell  you  so  many  inter- 
esting things  about  them.  He  is  an  untrained  natural- 
ist, but  a  most  keen  observer.  Then,  too,  he  is  a  great 
hunter,  and  one  of  the  finest  shots  in  the  Province.  I 
will  not  say  that  he  never  misses,  but  he  misses  very 
seldom.  Now,  can  you  be  ready  to  start  on  the  stage 
at  two  o'clock?  It  will  pick  us  up  at  my  house  after 
dinner ;  and  it  might  be  well  for  you  to  leave  word 
at  the  hotel  that  we  want  three  seats  this  afternoon. 


THE    COBBLER    NATURALIST 


43 


It 's  not  likely  that  the  stage  will  be  crowded,  but  it 's 
no  trouble  to  order  the  seats  in  advance.  We  will  go 
over  to  the  inlet  and  spend  twenty-four  hours  there, 
and  you  will,  no  doubt,  see  a  good  many  interesting 
things,  and  can  then  make  up  your  minds  about  your 
plans  for  the  future."  Before  there  was  time  given 
to  reply,  Mr.  James  asked :  ''  Have  either  of  you  ever 
seen  white  goats  ?  " 

"  Hugh  has,  Mr.  James,"  replied  Jack,  "  but  I  never 
have.  I  have  been  in  the  mountains  quite  near  them, 
but  I  have  never  seen  one,  much  less  had  a  shot." 

''  Well,"  said  Mr.  James,  "  there  are  plenty  in  the 
mountains  of  Burrard  Inlet,  and  if  all  goes  w^ell  you 
may  see  some  before  you  are  a  week  older.  You  will 
find  hunting  the  goats  very  different  from  paddling 
up  to  a  deer  in  the  water  and  killing  him  just  as  he 
climbs  the  bank  to  get  to  shore." 

Hugh  and  Jack  now  left  Mr.  James,  agreeing  to  be 
at  his  house  about  noon  for  dinner.  They  had  only 
made  a  few  steps  after  saying  good-bye  when  Jack 
turned  around  and  ran  back  to  ask  Mr.  James  what 
they  should  take  w^th  them  to  Burrard  Inlet:  would 
they  need  their  blankets?  ''  No,"  said  Mr.  James,  ''  if 
you  stop  at  the  little  settlement  of  Hastings  where 
Fannin  lives  you  will  not  need  anything  except  your 
guns,  as  there  is  quite  a  good  plain  hotel  there;  but 
if  you  should  go  off  to  camp  in  the  mountains,  of 
course  it  would  be  well  to  have  your  beds  with  you. 
I  think  perhaps  I  would  leave  word  to  have  them 
strapped  on  to  the  stage  when  it  starts,  and  then  you 
will  be  safe  whatever  happens." 

Hugh  and  Jack  hurried  back  to  town,  but  were  too 
late  to  get  any  breakfast  at  the  hotel.  However,  they 
got  a  bite  at  a  restaurant,  and  then  w^alked  about  the 
streets  to  see  whatever  sights  there  were  until  it  was 
time  to  go  to  Mr.  James's  home.  They  ordered  the 
seats  in  the  stage,  and  saw  that  their  beds  and  bags 


44  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

were  put  aboard.  Then  down  at  the  water's  edge  they 
looked  at  the  wharves  and  at  the  sahnon  canneries,  and 
thus  whiled  away  the  morning. 

Shortly  before  midday  they  returned  to  Mr.  James's 
house,  where  they  had  a  delightful  dinner,  and  a  little 
while  afterward  took  the  stage. 

To  pass  swiftly  along  over  the  level  yellow  road 
that  they  had  traversed  on  foot  in  the  morning  was 
very  delightful.  The  drive  was  not  a  long  one,  only 
nine  miles,  and  the  stage  drew  in  to  Hastings  in  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon.  Here  Mr.  Fannin  was  found 
in  the  little  cobbler-shop,  where  he  spent  his  bachelor 
existence,  surrounded  by  old  shoes  and  new,  rolls  of 
leather,  the  tools  of  his  trade,  bear  and  wolf  skins, 
stuffed  birds,  and  a  multitude  of  natural  history  speci- 
mens. Jack  thought  it  one  of  the  most  interesting 
places  that  he  had  ever  been  in.  Mr.  Fannin  was 
kindness  itself,  and  was  much  interested  in  the  talk  of 
the  proposed  canoe  trip.  But  before  that  had  been 
long  discussed.  Jack  was  asking  questions  about  the 
skins  of  many  birds  that  he  had  never  before  seen, 
but  about  most  of  which  he  had  read  and  knew  of  by 
pictures.  There  were  specimens  of  the  beautiful  little 
harlequin  duck,  whose  varied  plumage  gives  it  its 
name ;  of  the  black  oyster  catcher ;  of  several  species  of 
gulls ;  of  guillemots ;  of  a  number  of  shore  birds,  which 
were  new  to  him,  and  many  birds'  eggs  which  he  had 
never  seen  before. 

Mr.  Fannin  was  a  great  talker  and  a  man  with  a 
keen  sense  of  humor.  If  in  any  incident  there  was 
anything  funny,  his  fancy  was  likely  to  seize  upon  it. 

As  the  four  sat  on  the  grass  on  the  high  bank  over- 
looking the  inlet,  Mr.  Fannin  pointed  across  the  water 
to  some  low  unpainted  houses  standing  among  the 
timber  and  said :  "  There  is  an  Indian  village  over 
there,  and  I  must  send  somebody  over  to  get  Seam- 
mux  to  come  across  to-morrow  morning  to  go  with  us 


THE    COBBLER   NATURALIST  45 

to  the  head  of  the  North  Arm.  I  want  to  have  you 
see  the  country  up  there,  and  it  is  possible  that  from 
the  river  you  may  be  able  to  see  some  white  goats  on 
top  of  the  hills.  If  you  have  never  seen  these  animals 
you  will  see  them  now,  for  you  will  never  have  a  better 
chance." 

As  they  sat  there  Jack  saw,  not  far  off  and  up  the 
Arm,  a  fish-hawk  dropping  through  the  air  to  seize 
a  fish.  He  touched  Mr.  Fannin  and  pointed.  They 
both  watched  the  beautiful  bird  until  it  struck  the 
water  with  a  splash  that  sent  the  spray  high  in  the  air 
about  it. 

''  Now  watch,"  said  Mr.  Fannin,  "  and  you  may  see 
an  eagle  rob  that  osprey.  That 's  a  common  sight  here ; 
it  is  always  a  beautiful  one ;  but  perhaps  you  have  seen 
it  in  other  places  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Jack,  ''  I  never  have,  although  I  have 
read  about  it  often.  By  Jove,"  he  added,  '^  there  is  the 
eagle  now !  "  and  they  saw  a  white-headed  eagle  flying 
low  and  swiftly  up  the  inlet.  The  osprey  had  already 
risen  to  a  considerable  height  with  his  fish,  and  had 
started  to  fly  off  with  it  over  the  woods.  But  as  soon 
as  he  caught  sight  of  the  eagle  he  began  to  rise  in 
spiral  flight  higher  and  higher,  while  the  eagle  fol- 
lowed him  in  wider  circles.  Soon  it  was  seen  that  the 
eagle  was  rapidly  gaining  upon  the  fish-hawk,  and  at 
last  had  risen  above  it  and  had  made  one  or  two  darts 
at  it.  The  fish-hawk  seemed  to  avoid  these  attacks 
easily,  but  perhaps  they  made  it  nervous,  and  presently 
it  dropped  its  prey.  Shining  like  a  bar  of  silver,  the 
fish  fell,  and  was  carried  off  by  the  wind  diagonally 
to  one  side  in  a  long  slant.  But  as  soon  as  it  fell  the 
eagle  half  closed  its  wings,  fell  after  it,  overtook  it 
before  it  had  fallen  half  way  to  the  water,  grasped 
the  fish  in  its  own  great  talons,  and,  spreading  its 
wings,  bore  the  prey  off  to  a  tall  tree  on  the  mountain 
side. 


46  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

"  That  was  a  wonderful  sight,"  said  Jack.  *'  I  would 
not  have  missed  it  for  anything.  I  feel  as  if  I  should 
remember  that  for  a  very  long  time." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Fannin,  ''  I  believe  you  will;  it  is 
something  worth  remembering." 

*'  So  it  is,"  said  Hugh;  "  it 's  one  of  the  finest  sights 
I  ever  saw.  Who  would  have  thought  that  that  eagle 
could  drop  as  fast  as  the  fish  did,  that  he  could  direct 
himself  so  as  to  catch  his  prey,  and  that,  after  falling 
like  that,  he  could  stop.  There  's  a  whole  lot  of  mighty 
wonderful  things  to  be  seen  out  here.  It  beats  my 
time  altogether." 

"  Is  there  any  chance  of  our  getting  a  shot  at  any- 
thing to-morrow  morning,  when  we  go  up  the  North 
Arm,  Mr.  Fannin?"  asked  Jack. 

"  Of  course  I  can't  tell  about  that,"  said  he,  ''  but  I 
should  certainly  take  my  gun  along,  if  I  were  you. 
I  always  take  mine  whenever  I  go  out.  On  the  islands 
up  there  in  the  inlet  there  are  plenty  of  deer ;  and  it 's 
possible  that  you  might  get  a  shot  at  a  deer  any  time, 
while  there  's  a  bare  chance  that  a  goat  might  come 
down  to  the  valley  and  you  might  get  a  shot  at  him. 
Have  you  shot  much  with  the  rifle?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  *'  I  have  shot  a  little.  I  have 
killed  the  prairie  game  back  on  the  plains,  and  a  few 
mountain  sheep;  and  I  have  run  buffalo  and  killed 
two  or  three  bears." 

"  Then  you  Ve  had  quite  a  little  experience,  and  I 
suppose  you  're  a  pretty  good  shot." 

''  No,"  said  Jack,  ''  I  don't  think  I  am  much  of  a 
shot,  but  I  am  pretty  patient  about  waiting  around 
and  trying  to  get  the  shot  I  want." 

''Ha!"  said  Mr.  Fannin,  ''that  sounds  as  if  you 
had  learned  to  hunt  with  the  Indians,  or  at  all  events 
with  some  good  hunter." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  I  have  hunted  some  with 
Indians ;  but  the  man  who  taught  me  whatever  I  know 


J 


THE    COBBLER    NATURALIST  47 

about  hunting  is  sitting  with  us  now  —  and  that  is 
Hugh." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  ''  you  took  to  it  mighty  natural, 
son.  There  are  lots  of  people  that  have  had  a  heap  more 
experience  than  you  have  and  can't  come  near  you  for 
a  hunter." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  I  crossed  the  plains  from 
Canada  in  1861,  and  of  course  I  did  some  hunting  on 
the  way ;  but  ever  since  that  time  I  've  lived  here  in 
the  Province,  where  there 's  plenty  of  rough,  thick 
timber,  and  where  much  of  the  hunting  is  done  at  short 
range.  There  's  a  great  deal  of  game  here,  though 
not  of  many  sorts,  —  mostly  deer  and  bear,  and,  high 
up  in  the  mountains,  goats.  Farther  inland  there  are 
sheep,  and  still  beyond  that,  elk;  and  then  there  are 
elk  on  Vancouver  Island,  but  I  have  never  seen  any 
of  them. 

"  The  bears  are  plenty,  and  they  make  themselves 
very  much  at  home.  It 's  only  a  few^  days  since  that 
one  of  them  came  out  of  the  woods  just  back  of  the 
hotel  and  went  to  the  hog-pen  and  took  a  pig  and 
walked  off  with  it  into  the  forest.  The  bear  got  his 
pig  and  nobody  ever  got  him. 

"  A  year  or  two  ago  something  of  that  kind  hap- 
pened, and  with  it  one  of  the  funniest  things  I  ever 
saw.  A  bear  came  out  and  took  a  pig  and  went  off 
with  it,  and  an  Irishman,  working  on  the  place,  saw  it 
go.  He  picked  up  an  axe  and  ran  down  to  call  me. 
I  grabbed  my  rifle  and  we  both  started  running  into 
the  timber  where  the  bear  had  disappeared.  We  could 
still  hear  the  squealing  of  the  pig.  We  had  n't  got 
far  into  the  woods  before  we  came  upon  an  immense 
tree-trunk  lying  on  the  ground,  which  we  had  to  climb 
over.  It  was  six  or  eight  feet  high,  and  the  Irishman 
got  there  a  little  bit  ahead  of  me.  Having  nothing 
to  carry  but  his  axe,  he  climbed  over  first  and  jumped 
down  on  the  other  side.     I  was  slower  in  getting  up, 


48         JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

and  when  I  got  on  top  of  the  trunk  and  was  just 
about  to  jump  down,  I  saw  in  front  of  me  and  walking 
toward  me  on  its  hind  legs  a  big  bear.  The  Irishman 
was  standing  under  me,  backed  up  against  the  tree 
trunk,  his  hands  at  his  sides  and  his  axe  lying  at  his 
feet,  while  the  bear  was  stepping  up  to  him  as  if  he 
wanted  to  shake  hands.  The  Irishman  was  too  fright- 
ened to  yell  or  do  anything.  He  just  backed  up 
against  the  tree  hard.  Of  course  I  saw  all  this  at  a 
glance,  and  I  began  to  laugh  so  that  I  could  hardly 
get  my  gun  to  my  shoulder.  But,  by  the  time  that  the 
bear  was  within  five  or  six  steps  of  the  Irishman,  I 
realized  that  something  had  to  be  done;  and  I  fired 
and  killed  the  bear. 

"  It  took  that  Irishman  about  an  hour  to  recover 
from  his  scare,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  he  did  n't 
get  his  color  back  for  three  or  four  days." 

After  a  little  while  the  party  went  into  the  hotel 
and  had  their  supper  and  then  returned  to  Fannin's 
shop.  Here,  before  it  grew  dark,  they  saw  approach- 
ing a  tall,  oldish,  stoop-shouldered  man,  who  walked 
with  a  slight  halt  in  his  gait.  Said  Fannin :  *'  Oh ! 
here  comes  old  Meigs.  I  am  glad  you  are  going  to 
meet  him.  He  is  an  American,  an  old  prospector,  who 
has  spent  all  of  his  life  mining  down  in  Arizona.  He 
got  a  slight  stroke  of  paralysis  three  or  four  years  ago. 
He  came  up  here  and  is  living  in  a  little  cabin  just 
below.  He  is  a  good  fellow  and  has  seen  a  great  deal 
of  western  life."  As  Meigs  joined  the  group  Fannin 
introduced  the  strangers,  and  they  were  soon  all  talk- 
ing together. 

*'  I  am  glad  Meigs  came,"  said  Fannin,  "  because 
he  reminds  me  of  something  that  happened  last  year 
that  I  want  to  tell  you  about.  Two  years  ago  a  man 
who  lived  about  here  thought  that  he  would  raise  some 
sheep.  He  did  n't  have  money  enough  to  get  many, 
but  he  got  half  a  dozen  ewes  and  a  ram,  and  turned 


THE    COBBLER    NATURALIST 


49 


them  out  to  pick  up  their  hving  along  the  shore  and 
in  the  timber.  They  did  very  weU  for  a  while.  But 
presently,  when  the  man  started  to  look  them  up,  he 
found  that  there  was  one  missing,  and  then  another, 
and  then  the  old  ram  disappeared.  We  never  knew 
just  what  got  them,  but  we  suspected  bears  and  wolves; 
and  one  day,  going  through  the  timber,  I  found  the 
skeleton  of  a  sheep,  and  another  day  the  skeleton  of 
another.  About  a  year  ago  I  took  my  rifle  and  went 
out  for  a  little  walk  in  the  timber.  I  went  a  mile  or 
two  and  did  n't  see  anything,  and  then  came  back 
nearly  to  the  road  here.  I  climbed  up  on  a  stump  and 
sat  there  for  a  while,  listening  to  the  birds  and  watch- 
ing them.  Presently,  in  a  trail  that  passed  close  to 
that  stump,  I  saw  the  three  sheep  going  along  towards 
the  road.  I  paid  no  particular  attention  to  them,  but 
after  they  had  passed  I  got  down  from  the  stump, 
walked  out  to  the  trail,  and  started  for  the  road  my- 
self. I  could  see  the  sheep  not  very  far  ahead  of  me, 
and,  as  they  were  feeding  along  and  I  was  walking 
briskly,  I  got  pretty  close  to  them  before  they  reached 
the  road.  They  had  almost  got  to  it,  and  I  was  not 
far  behind  them,  when  suddenly  a  bear  charged  out 
of  the  timber,  into  the  trail,  and  tried  to  grab  one  of 
the  sheep.  They  rushed  around  a  little  crook  in  the 
trail,  and  the  bear  after  them,  before  I  could  cock  my 
rifle  and  put  it  to  my  shoulder.  I  started  after  them 
as  hard  as  I  could  go,  thinking  that  if  the  bear  fol- 
lowed the  sheep  into  the  road  I  would  surely  get  a 
good  shot  at  him  and  would  probably  kill  him.  I 
rushed  out  into  the  road,  and  almost  into  the  arms  of 
Meigs  here,  who  had  been  w-alking  away  from  the 
inlet ;  but  the  sheep  and  the  bear  had  disappeared. 
I  said  to  Meigs :  '  Hello,  Meigs !  What  are  you  doing 
here?  '  He  raised  his  hand  to  keep  me  from  speaking, 
took  a  step  or  two  forward,  shaded  his  eyes  w^ith  his 
hand,  and  looked  up  the  trail  by  which  I  had  just 

4 


50  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

come  out  from  the  timber.  I  could  not  understand 
what  was  the  matter  with  him,  and  presently  I  said  in 
a  low  voice :  '  What  is  the  matter  with  you ;  what  do 
you  see  ? ' 

"  '  I  am  just  trying  to  see,'  he  answered,  *  what  in 
thunder  is  the  next  thing  that  will  come  along  that 
trail.' 

"  He  had  been  taking  a  little  walk  along  the  road 
and  got  just  opposite  the  trail,  you  see,  when  sud- 
denly the  sheep  rushed  out,  and  then  the  bear,  and 
then  I  came  —  all  going  as  hard  as  we  could  go.  It 
must  have  been  a  funny  sight." 

''  It  was,"  said  Meigs,  "  and  for  a  minute  I  thought 
I  was  crazy  and  seeing  things  that  did  not  exist." 

"  Tell  them  about  the  morning  that  the  wolf  chased 
you,"  said  Fannin. 

''  Well,"  said  Meigs,  as  he  pushed  down  the  tobacco 
in  his  pipe  and  pulled  on  it  two  or  three  times,  to  get 
it  going  well,  ''  that  was  quite  a  scare  for  me.  Of 
course  I  knew  that  the  wolves  were  not  dangerous  in 
the  country  I  came  from,  but  I  did  n't  know  about 
them  here.  Winter  before  last  a  wolf  came  down  to  the 
inlet  and  stopped  right  near  here.  We  used  to  hear 
him  howling  often,  and  I  always  believed  that  he 
killed  that  old  ram  that  Fannin  has  been  talking  about. 
I  set  a  trap  for  him  two  or  three  times,  but  he  would 
not  go  near  it.  One  morning,  just  at  daylight,  I  heard 
him  howling  close  above  the  cabin.  I  jumped  out  of 
my  blankets,  grabbed  my  gun,  and  stepped  out  to  see 
if  I  could  get  a  shot.  I  could  not  see  him  from  the 
door,  and  I  hurried  up  the  trail,  about  thirty  steps 
from  the  door  of  the  cabin,  to  where  the  trail  made  a 
little  bend.  My  rifle  was  an  old-fashioned  Spencer 
carbine.  I  don't  know  whether  any  of  you  men  ever 
saw  one?  "  and  he  looked  around  the  circle  inquiringly. 

"  Go  ahead,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  know  them.  They  miss 
fire  half  the  time,  and  the  other  half  they  are  just  as 


i 


THE    COBBLER    NATURALIST  51 

likely  to  shoot  around  the  corner  as  they  are  to  shoot 
straight  ahead." 

"  Yes,"  said  Meigs,  *'  you  have  used  one,  I  guess." 

"  Well,"  he  continued,  "  when  I  got  to  the  bend  in 
that  trail  and  looked  around,  there  was  the  wolf  a  short 
hundred  yards  off,  with  his  fore  feet  on  a  log,  and  his 
head  toward  me,  just  beginning  to  howl.  I  dropped 
down  on  one  knee  and  drew  a  bead  on  his  breast  and 
pulled  the  trigger.  The  cartridge  exploded,  and  if 
you  '11  believe  me,  when  the  smoke  drifted  away  I 
could  see  that  ball  from  that  old  Spencer  carbine  cork- 
screwing toward  the  wolf  as  though  it  was  never  going 
to  get  there.  In  the  meantime  the  wolf  had  jumped 
from  the  log  on  which  it  was  standing  and  started 
toward  me.  I  turned  round  and  ran  for  the  cabin. 
When  I  was  ten  or  fifteen  feet  from  the  door  the 
string  of  my  drawers  broke,  and  they  fell  down  around 
my  ankles  and  shackled  me,  so  that  I  could  n't  run. 
I  had  to  come  down  on  my  hands  and  knees  and 
scramble  the  rest  of  the  way  on  all  fours.  When  I  got 
inside  the  cabin  and  slammed  the  door  and  looked 
back  through  a  crack,  of  course  the  wolf  was  out  of 
sight. 

''  Fannin  thinks  that  this  is  a  pretty  good  joke  on 
me,  and  maybe  it  is." 

When  Hugh  and  Jack  had  finished  laughing  over 
Meigs's  adventure,  Jack  began  to  ask  Fannin  about 
the  Indians  that  lived  along  the  inlet. 

"  Like  most  of  the  Siwashes  about  here,"  said  Fan- 
nin, *'  they  are  fish-eating  people ;  though,  of  course, 
they  kill  a  good  many  deer  and  some  few  white  goats. 
Their  main  dependence,  however,  is  the  salmon,  of 
which,  at  the  proper  season  of  the  year,  they  catch  and 
dry  great  numbers." 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Jack,  "  that  they  have  lost  a  good 
many  of  their  primitive  ways,  have  they  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,"   said  Fannin,   "  they  are  changing  rapidly, 


52  JACK   THE   YOUNP   CANOEMAN 

yet  within  a  short  time  I  have  seen  them  use  the  fire- 
sticks  to  kindle  a  fire.  That  does  not  look  as  if  they 
were  changing  rapidly,  does  it  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Jack,  "  I  should  say  not.  I  should 
think  they  would  use  matches,  or  if  not  matches,  at 
least  flint  and  steel." 

''  So  they  do,"  said  Fannin,  "  for  many  purposes, 
but  for  some  others  they  use  the  fire-sticks.  And 
that  reminds  me,"  he  continued,  ''  of  Dick  Griffin's 
joke  about  fire-sticks.  He  had  been  chopping  logs  at 
quite  a  distance  from  camp,  and  one  day  had  to  leave 
his  job  to  come  down  to  the  main  camp  to  get  some 
grub.  He  started  rather  late,  and  when  he  had  got 
half  way  it  came  on  to  rain  and  blow  and  get  dark. 
He  landed  and  spent  the  night  in  the  timber,  with 
nothing  to  eat,  and  with  no  fire,  for  he  had  left  his 
matches  behind,  or  they  got  wet  or  something.  It 
was  still  raining  when  he  got  to  the  camp  the  next 
morning,  and  two  or  three  men  were  standing  around 
the  fire.  Dick  paddled  in,  took  his  canoe  out  of  the 
water,  walked  up  to  the  fire,  and  after  the  men  had 
exchanged  a  few  words  with  him,  he  said  abruptly: 

*  Boys,  have  you  ever  seen  the  Indians  make  a  fire  by 
rubbing  two  sticks  together  ?  '     They  all  said  '  Yes.' 

*  Well,'  said  Dick,  '  I  would  like  to  know  how  long  it 
takes  them  to  do  it.  I  know  it  can't  be  done  in  one 
night,  for  I  spent  all  last  night  in  trying  to  make  a 
fire  in  just  that  way.'  " 

The  rest  of  the  evening  was  spent  in  pleasant  con- 
versation, and  many  a  story  was  told.  Before  they 
parted  for  the  night  Fannin  said  that  he  had  arranged 
to  have  a  little  steamer  take  them  up  the  inlet  the 
next  morning  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  flowing  into 
the  North  Arm,  from  which  they  would  have  a  good 
view  of  the  surrounding  mountains. 


CHAPTER    V 

AN    UNEXPECTED   BEAR 

By  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  party  had 
embarked  on  the  tiny  steamer  "  Senator  "  on  their  way 
up  Burrard  Inlet.  The  little  craft  carried  them  swiftly 
along  past  the  Indian  village  on  the  north  bank,  past 
wooded  hills  and  low  grassy  points,  past  rough  granite 
mountain  faces,  where  the  few  scattering  trees  found 
scarcely  earth  enough  to  support  them,  and  were  forced 
to  drive  their  roots  deep  down  into  the  crevices  of  the 
rocks,  until,  six  miles  above  Hastings,  the  boat  turned 
sharply  to  the  left  and  up  the  North  Arm  of  the  inlet. 
Here  the  hills  on  either  side  were  nearer  together  and 
appeared  higher  and  more  rugged.  Their  summits 
were  capped  with  snow,  which,  in  many  of  the  gorges 
and  ravines,  extended  far  down  toward  the  water's 
edge.  The  steep  rock  faces  were  covered  with  a  harsh 
brown  moss,  which,  except  when  wet,  gave  an  excellent 
foothold  to  the  climber.  Where  the  mountains  were 
not  too  steep,  and  soil  was  not  utterly  wanting,  there 
was  a  dense  forest  of  Douglas  firs  and  cedars,  some 
of  the  timber  being  very  large.  The  various  shades 
of  green  of  the  different  trees  gave  a  variety  to  the 
aspect  of  the  forest,  as  a  whole,  which  had  almost 
the  effect  of  cloud  shadows,  and  added  greatly  to  the 
beauty  of  the  scene.  Jack  and  Hugh  did  not  weary 
in  watching  the  constantly  changing  view.  Now  and 
then  the  round  head  of  a  seal  emerged  from  the  quiet 
waters,  looked  for  a  moment  at  the  boat  and  then  dis- 
appeared. Little  groups  of  water  birds,  disturlDed  in 
their  fishing  or  their  resting,  rose  on  wing  and  flew 


54  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

up  or  down  the  inlet.  From  the  shores  and  mountains 
on  either  side,  birds,  large  and  small,  were  constantly 
flying  across  the  inlet ;  and  now  and  then  a  great  fish 
sprang  from  the  water,  and  fell  back  with  a  splash 
which  could  be  heard. 

"  I  tell  you,  Hugh,"  said  Jack,  "  we  '11  have  things 
enough  to  talk  about  if  we  ever  get  back  to  the  ranch 
and  tell  the  cow-punchers  there  what  we  have  seen  on 
this  trip." 

"  You  're  dead  right,  son ;  they  never  imagined  any- 
thing like  this  any  more  than  I  ever  did ;  and  what 's 
more,  we  won't  be  able  to  tell  it  to  them  so  that  they 
can  understand  what  it  is  like.  That 's  the  worst  of 
going  off  and  seeing  things,  —  that  when  you  go  back 
you  can't  make  other  people  see  as  you  saw,  or  have 
the  same  feelings  that  you  had  when  you  took  them 
in  with  your  eyes." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  talk  is  a  pretty  poor  thing  com- 
pared with  seeing  anything  for  yourself." 

"  Now,  look  at  those  waterfalls !  "  said  Hugh.  "  Do 
you  suppose  it  would  be  possible  to  tell  anybody  about 
those  things  so  that  they  could  really  understand  how 
they  look?" 

''  No,"  said  Jack,  ''  I  do  not  believe  anybody  could 
do  that." 

Down  almost  every  slope  within  their  view,  and 
constantly  changing  as  the  boat's  position  changed, 
poured  beautiful  cascades,  some  of  which  deserved  the 
title  of  waterfall.  Though  now  they  carried  but  little 
water,  their  wide  beds  of  naked  rock  showed  that  in 
the  spring  and  early  summer,  when  the  snows  were 
melting,  they  must  be  mighty  torrents,  sweeping  every- 
thing before  them  with  resistless  power.  Even  now 
they  were  very  beautiful,  and  their  delicate  streams, 
stretching  like  white  threads  far  up  the  mountain  sides, 
could  scarcely  be  distinguished  in  the  distance  from 
the  lines  of  snow  in  the  ravines;    though,   with  the 


AN    UNEXPECTED    BEAR  55 

glasses,  the  leaping,  wavering  motion  of  the  water 
could  be  discerned  which  distinguished  the  white  hur- 
rying flood  from  the  unmoving  snowdrift. 

They  had  passed  up  the  Arm  and  were  just  round- 
ing a  little  point  and  beginning  to  get  a  view  of  some 
low  grassy  meadows  running  up  from  the  water's 
edge,  when  Hugh  suddenly  said  to  Jack :  "  Son,  I  be- 
lieve that 's  a  bear  in  that  grass  " ;  and  Jack,  bringing 
his  eyes  down  to  the  meadow's  level,  saw  a  small  black 
object  moving  about  in  the  grass.  Whatever  it  was, 
it  had  not  yet  seen  the  steamer.  Jack  rushed  into  the 
cabin  where  Fannin  and  Mr.  James  were  talking  to 
the  Indian  Seammux  and,  grasping  his  rifle,  said: 
**  Mr.  Fannin,  I  believe  there  is  a  bear  out  on  the 
shore."  In  a  moment  all  were  looking  at  the  animal, 
and  there  was  now  no  doubt  as  to  what  it  was.  Fan- 
nin stepped  around  to  the  pilot  house  and  asked  the 
captain  to  steer  close  to  the  shore,  and  also  to  see  that 
the  boat  made  as  little  noise  as  possible.  They  rap- 
idly crept  up  toward  the  bear;  but  long  before  they 
had  come  within  rifle-shot  the  animal  saw  them,  stood 
up,  looked  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  then,  turning 
about,  bolted  through  the  grass  and  disappeared  in 
the  forest. 

''  Well,"  said  Jack  to  Mr.  Fannin,  "  that  beats  any- 
thing yet.  I  believe  if  anybody  had  been  in  a  canoe 
and  paddled  along  quietly,  that  bear  would  never  have 
noticed  him,  and  he  might  have  got  within  gunshot." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Fannin,  "  of  course  he  might. 
That 's  just  what  I  've  told  you.  It 's  quite  possible 
that  you  will  see  something  of  that  kind  more  than 
once  before  you  get  back." 

About  twelve  miles  from  where  the  North  Arm 
leaves  the  main  inlet,  the  Arm  ends  in  the  narrow 
valley  of  the  Salmon  River.  Here  the  boat  anchored, 
and  here,  after  some  little  discussion,  it  was  deter- 
mined that  Jack,  Mr.  Fannin,  and  the  Indian  should 


56  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

take  the  latter's  canoe  and  go  a  short  distance  up  the 
river  to  see  whether  a  ghmpse  might  not  be  had  of  the 
goats  that  dwelt  on  the  summit  of  the  mountains  on 
the  west  side. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  James  jointed  his  rod  and 
set  out  to  try  to  catch  some  trout;  while  Hugh 
said  that  he  would  go  with  Mr.  James  and  watch  the 
fishing. 

The  Indian's  canoe  was  light,  low,  and  slender,  and 
when  its  three  occupants  were  seated  it  was  low  in 
the  water.  Mr.  Fannin  had  with  him  his  rifle  and  his 
shot-gun ;  the  rifle,  perhaps,  being  carried  out  of  com- 
pliment to  Jack,  while  the  shot-gun  was  his  constant 
companion,  for  he  never  knew  at  what  moment  he 
might  not  see  some  strange  bird. 

They  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  up  the  river 
when  it  became  necessary  for  Mr.  Fannin  and  Jack 
to  land  and  walk  along  the  gravel  bars,  for  the  water 
in  the  rapids  was  so  shoal  that  the  loaded  canoe  could 
not  ascend.  When  the  swift  water  was  reached,  the 
Indian  laid  down  his  paddle,  took  up  his  pole,  and, 
standing  in  the  stern  of  the  canoe,  prepared  to  drive 
the  craft  up  the  stream  against  the  turbulent  current. 
Quietly  pushing  it  along  until  he  had  almost  reached 
the  rushing  water,  he  set  his  pole  firmly  against  the 
bottom,  and  leaning  back  against  it,  sent  the  light 
craft  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  up  the  stream,  and  then, 
before  its  way  had  ceased,  recovered  his  pole  and  again 
set  it  against  the  stones  of  the  bottom.  Standing  as 
he  did  in  the  stern,  the  nose  of  the  canoe  rose  high 
above  the  water;  and,  as  it  rushed  forward,  reminded 
Jack  of  the  head  of  some  sea  monster,  whose  lower 
jaw  was  buried  beneath  the  surface.  No  matter  how 
furiously  the  water  rushed,  boiled,  and  bubbled  on 
either  side,  the  light  craft  held  perfectly  straight, 
moved  regularly  forward  until,  when  the  rapids  had 
been  passed,   Fannin   and  Jack  stepped   aboard  once 


AN   UNEXPECTED    BEAR  57 

more  and  the  paddles  were  resumed,  only  to  be  laid 
aside  for  the  pole  when  another  rapid  was  reached. 

Here  Jack  saw,  and  was  delighted  to  see,  some 
familiar  friends  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  —  the  little 
dippers  or  water  ouzels.  On  every  little  stretch  of 
still  water  one  or  more  would  be  started,  flying  from 
rock  to  rock  and  bobbing  comically  at  each  point  where 
they  alighted.  Many  of  the  birds  were  young  ones,  not 
long  from  the  nest,  and  were  quite  without  fear,  per- 
mitting a  very  close  approach  before  they  would  fly. 

A  number  of  broods  of  harlequin  ducks  were  startled, 
some  of  them  quite  large  and  able  to  fly,  while  others 
seemed  to  be  newly  hatched.  Whatever  their  age, 
they  seemed  well  able  to  take  care  of  themselves,  and 
could  always  keep  ahead  of  the  canoe  until  at  last 
they  disappeared  from  sight  around  some  bend  and 
were  not  seen  again.  Everywhere  along  the  stream 
grew  the  salmon  berry  bushes,  laden  with  mature  or 
ripening  fruit.  The  bushes,  in  their  manner  of  growth 
and  in  their  berries,  reminded  Jack  of  the  eastern  black- 
berries, but  the  ripe  fruit  was  either  red  or  yellow  or 
black,  all  these  colors  growing  on  the  same  bush. 

As  they  passed  on  up  the  stream,  the  white  men 
sometimes  on  the  gravel  bar  and  again  in  the  canoe, 
they  saw  no  other  animal  life  except  the  ravens  and 
eagles,  which  now  and  then  flew  over  them,  going  up 
and  down  the  valley.  At  one  point  were  tracks  where 
a  bear  had  crossed  the  stream,  and  at  another  some 
old  deer  tracks. 

At  length,  about  two  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  on  a  long  gravel  bar,  where  the  river  w^as  wide 
and  a  good  view  could  be  had  of  the  summits  of 
the  mountains,  they  landed  to  try  to  see  some  white 
goats.  The  guns,  which  had  been  lying  in  the  canoe, 
were  wet  from  the  water  which  had  been  shipped  in 
the  passage  up  the  rapids,  and  Jack  and  Mr.  Fannin 
took  them  out  to  dry.     Mr.  Fannin  held  his  down  to 


58  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

drain  and  then  set  them  up  against  a  pile  of  drift- 
wood to  dry.  Jack  wiped  the  water  from  his  rifle  as 
well  as  he  could,  and  walked  along  with  it  in  his  hand. 
The  three  had  gone  about  forty  yards  from  the  canoe 
when  Mr.  Fannin  and  the  Indian  stopped  and  began 
carefully  to  look  over  the  hills  above  them.  Jack 
looked  too,  but  saw  nothing  and  walked  on  toward 
the  upper  end  of  the  bar,  where  there  was  a  huge  drift- 
log,  which  he  mounted  to  get  a  wider  view.  As  he 
did  so  he  looked  back  at  the  others  and  saw  Seammux 
suddenly  point  across  the  river  and  speak  eagerly  to 
his  companion.  At  the  same  time  Mr.  Fannin  turned 
toward  Jack  and  beckoned  with  his  hand.  Jack 
thought  that  possibly  a  deer  had  shown  itself  in  the 
brush  and  jumped  from  his  perch  on  the  log  to  run 
toward  the  others.  The  stones  under  his  feet  seemed 
to  make  a  tremendously  loud  clatter  as  he  ran;  and, 
forgetting  that  the  roar  of  the  water  would  drown 
any  noise  that  he  might  make,  he  feared  that  the 
game,  whatever  it  might  be,  would  hear  him  and  run 
off  into  the  brush. 

He  was  still  fifty  yards  from  the  other  two  when 
Fannin  again  turned  toward  him  and  raised  his  hand 
with  a  warning  gesture.  Just  as  he  did  so  there 
walked  out  from  behind  a  bush  into  Jack's  view  a 
good-sized  bear.  As  he  started  to  run  Jack  had  slipped 
a  cartridge  into  his  rifle,  and,  as  soon  as  the  animal 
appeared,  he  dropped  on  one  knee  and  prepared  to  fire. 
The  bear,  however,  was  quite  unconscious  of  the  pres- 
ence of  man,  and  Jack  waited  for  a  moment  in  the 
hope  that  the  animal  would  stand  still ;  for,  with  two 
persons  looking  on,  he  was  anxious  not  to  miss.  The 
bear  was  about  one  hundred  yards  ofif,  and  there 
would  be  no  excuse  for  a  failure.  It  was  gathering 
berries,  and  its  attention  was  concentrated  on  that  occu- 
pation. Where  the  fruit  hung  low  the  bear  reached 
up  its  head  like  a  cow  picking  apples  from  a  tree,  and, 


AN   UNEXPECTED    BEAR  59 

winding  its  long  tongue  about  the  stem,  stripped  the 
berries  and  leaves  from  it.  Again  it  would  stand  up 
on  its  hind  legs  and,  reaching  the  high  branches  with 
its  forepaws,  pull  them  down  within  reach  of  its  mouth. 
Two  or  three  times  Jack  was  on  the  point  of  pulling 
the  trigger,  but  he  waited  for  a  better  opportunity, 
which  came  at  last.  The  bear  dropped  on  all  fours 
and  for  an  instant  stood  still,  with  head  slightly  raised, 
facing  Jack,  who  fired  at  the  white  spot  on  the  beast's 
breast.  Just  as  the  trigger  was  pulled  the  bear  began 
to  rear  up  for  some  berries ;  but,  at  the  crack  of  the 
rifle,  he  whirled  about  and  lumbered  off  into  the  brush. 
A  moment  later  Jack  had  run  up  to  Mr.  Fannin  and 
asked :  "  Did  I  hit  him  ?  "  Neither  could  tell,  and 
Mr.  Fannin  sent  Seammux  to  bring  the  canoe  up  to 
where  they  were  standing,  so  that  they  might  cross 
over  to  look  for  the  trail. 

In  a  few  moments  the  canoe  came  up,  and  in  a 
moment  more  they  had  crossed  over  and  reached  the 
opposite  bank.  Mr.  Fannin  and  Jack  climbed  up  the 
steep  bank  and  ran  to  the  point  where  the  bear  had 
disappeared,  while  Seammux,  taking  time  only  to 
secure  the  canoe,  followed.  They  had  not  gone  two 
yards  into^  the  bushes  when  Jack  saw  a  broad  leaf 
covered  with  blood,  and  then  thick  drops  —  a  plain 
trail  running  into  the  timber.  By  this  time  Seammux 
was  with  them,  and  they  pressed  forward  on  the  trail. 
Once  they  overran  it  for  a  moment,  but  a  low  call 
from  the  Indian  told  them  that  he  had  found  it ;  and, 
as  they  overtook  him,  he  stopped  with  an  exclamation, 
and  pointed.  There,  a  few  yards  away,  lay  the  bear 
curled  up  on  his  side,  his  paws  over  his  nose.  They 
looked  far  a  moment,  but  he  did  not  move,  and  then, 
hokling  his  gun  in  readiness.  Jack  walked  around 
behind  and  gave  the  back  a  sharp  push.  The  animal 
was  quite  dead,  the  ball  having  pierced  the  white  spot 
and  gone  through  the  vitals. 


6o  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

Though  it  looked  much  smaller  dead  than  it  had 
when  living,  and  though  the  distance  to  the  river  bank 
was  short,  it  took  some  time  to  drag  the  bear  out  to 
the  river,  and  then  to  lower  it  into  the  canoe. 

A  little  more  time  was  devoted  to  studying  the  tops 
of  the  mountains  for  goats;  then,  as  the  sun  was 
getting  low,  they  stepped  into  the  canoe,  turned  the 
vessel's  prow  down  stream,  and  were  soon  hurrying 
merrily  along  over  the  dancing  waters  toward  the 
river's  mouth. 

Jack,  to  whom  this  method  of  journeying  was  new, 
found  it  very  exhilarating  to  fly  down  the  rapids, 
dashing  by  the  bank  at  almost  railroad  speed,  the 
Indian  now  and  then  giving  a  stroke  of  the  paddle 
to  keep  the  canoe  straight,  or  sometimes  to  alter  her 
course  when  a  threatening  rock  appeared  above  the 
water.  The  rapids,  that  had  been  surmounted  with 
much  difficulty  on  the  way  up  the  stream,  now  disap- 
peared behind  them  almost  as  soon  as  they  were 
reached.  It  took  but  a  short  time  to  gain  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  and  the  canoe  was  soon  alongside  the 
steamer. 

There  everything  was  ready  for  a  start.  The  bear 
in  the  canoe  gave  those  on  the  steamer  a  surprise,  and 
they  were  much  gratified  at  the  success  of  the  short 
excursion. 

Just  as  the  steamer  was  about  to  start,  Seammux 
spoke  and  pointed  toward  the  top  of  one  of  the  moun- 
tains on  the  north  side  of  the  Arm,  where  two  very 
minute  white  spots  were  seen  on  the  mountain  top. 
When  the  glasses  had  been  brought  to  bear  and  the 
specks  had  been  watched  for  some  little  time,  it 
appeared  quite  certain  that  they  were  white  goats. 
Although  they  were  so  distant  that  no  motion  could  be 
detected,  it  soon  became  apparent  that  these  white 
specks  gradually  changed  their  positions,  both  with 
regard  to  each  other  and  to  surrounding  objects.    The 


J 


AN    UNEXPECTED    BEAR  6i 

day  was  too  far  spent  to  allow  any  further  investiga- 
tion of  them  to  be  made,  but  as  the  boat  started  on  its 
way  down  the  North  Arm,  Mr.  Fannin  assured  Jack 
that  at  last  he  had  seen  a  couple  of  white  goats. 

"  If  you  w^ant  to  see  these  animals  at  home,"  said 
Mr.  Fannin,  *'  the  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  come 
back  here  and  climb  those  mountains  to  where  they 
live,  and  then  we  can  see  them  and  very  likely  get  one 
or  two.  You  are  in  no  great  hurry,  I  fancy,  and  you 
would  not  mind  spending  a  day  or  two  in  camping  on 
the  top  of  these  hills.  We  '11  think  it  over  and  make 
up  our  minds  about  it  to-night  or  to-morrow." 

"  Nothing  would  suit  me  better  than  just  such  a  trip 
as  you  suggest,  Mr.  Fannin,  and  we  can  talk  it  over 
and  decide  about  it  to-night,  as  you  say." 

If  it  had  been  pleasant  coming  up  the  Arm  and 
the  inlet,  it  was  not  less  so  on  the  way  down.  The 
bird  life  was  as  abundant  as  it  had  been  in  the  morn- 
ing. Jack  and  Mr.  Fannin  went  to  the  bow  and 
watched  the  creatures  busy  at  their  feeding. 

"  Tell  me  something  about  that  black  bird  with  the 
white  shoulders,  Mr.  Fannin.  I  suppose  it  is  one  of 
the  guillemots,  is  it  not?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  Yes.  That 's  the  pigeon  guillemot,"  said  Mr. 
Fannin ;  ''a  very  abundant  bird  here,  found  everywhere 
on  the  salt  water.  It 's  more  plentiful  in  the  Gulf  of 
Georgia  than  it  is  up  here  in  the  inlet,  but  it 's  plenty 
enough  everywhere.  They  breed  on  many  of  the 
islands,  rearing  their  young  in  the  rocks.  They  are 
industrious  little  birds,  as  you  see,  and  are  constantly 
diving  for  food.  They  eat  a  crustacean  which  looks  to 
me  a  good  deal  like  the  crawfish  that  I  used  to  see 
back  East ;  and  if  you  watch,  you  will  see  that  many 
of  these  birds  which  fly  by  the  vessel  are  carrying  this 
crustacean  in  their  bills.  That  means,  I  suppose,  that 
by  this  time  of  the  year  the  young  are  getting  big 
enough  to  help  themselves.     I  believe  that  when  they 


62  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

are  very  young,  though,  the  old  ones  swallow  the  food, 
which,  after  it  has  been  partly  digested,  is  disgorged 
into  the  mouths  of  the  young  ones." 

*'  There  seem  to  be  some  ducks  over  there  near  the 
shore,  can  you  tell  what  those  are  at  this  distance, 
Mr.  Fannin  ?  "  asked  Jack. 

Mr.  Fannin  looked  through  the  glasses  and  then 
replied :  '*  Yes,  those  are  harlequin  ducks.  Take  the 
glasses  and  look  at  them.  Their  plumage  is  easily 
recognized  even  at  this  distance.  They  breed  here  on 
the  islands,  I  am  told,  though  I  have  never  found  a 
nest.  The  Indians  say  that  they  are  very  much  more 
abundant  on  the  river  than  they  are  down  here  on  the 
salt  water.  I  have  never  seen  a  nest,  and  don't  even 
know  where  they  breed,  whether  in  the  grass,  or  in 
holes  in  the  rocks,  or  in  the  trees.  Of  course,  you 
know  that  there  are  some  ducks  that  build  in  the  holes 
in  the  trees?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  replied  Jack.  "  Quite  a  number  of  them, 
though  I  have  never  found  a  duck's  nest  in  a  tree;  and 
I  feel  that  I  should  be  a  good  deal  surprised  if  I  did 
find  one." 

All  along  the  inlet  eagles,  ospreys,  and  crows  fairly 
swarmed,  brought  there  by  the  abundance  of  the  fish, 
which  offer  food  to  all  of  them.  Salmon  and  many 
other  sorts  of  good  fish  run  up  the  Arm,  while  the 
dog-fish  —  a  small  shark  —  is  everywhere.  There  is 
no  reason  why  a  fish-eating  bird  should  starve  here; 
and,  besides  the  fish,  the  crows  and  ravens  find  abun- 
dant food  along  the  shore  in  the  various  sorts  of  shell- 
fish that  are  everywhere  abundant. 

A  little  later,  as  the  two  were  sitting  on  the  deck  in 
front  of  the  pilot  house,  enjoying  the  warm  sun,  the 
Indian  Seammux  came  up,  and,  squatting  down  beside 
them,  began  to  talk  in  Chinook  to  Mr.  Fannin.  After 
he  had  spoken  for  a  few  moments  Mr.  Fannin  an- 
swered  him,   and,   turning  to  Jack,   said :   "  Here  is 


AN    UNEXPECTED    BEAR  63 

something  that  maybe  will  interest  you.  Seammux  is 
telling  me  a  story  about  a  selallicum  that  used  to  live 
in  the  North  Arm  of  the  inlet,  and  in  old  times  killed 
many  Indians.  This  monster  must  have  been  of  great 
size.  It  was  peculiar  in  form,  too,  being  shaped  like 
two  fishes,  whose  bodies  were  joined  together  at  the 
tail.  It  used  to  lie  stretched  across  the  mouth  of  the 
North  Arm,  just  beneath  the  surface  of  the  water,  one 
of  its  heads  reaching  across  to  the  other  shore.  When- 
ever a  canoe  attempted  to  pass  up  the  Arm,  the  monster 
would  wait  until  the  vessel  was  directly  over  its  body 
and  then  would  rise  to  the  surface  and  upset  the  canoe, 
and  devour  the  occupants.  That  is  all  that  he  has  told 
me  so  far." 

He  spoke  to  Seammux,  who  replied  at  considerable 
length,  and  Mr.  Fannin  interpreted  again.  "  '  In  this 
way,'  he  says,  *  the  monster  killed  many  Indians,  for 
the  North  Arm  was  a  great  hunting  place,  and  fish 
and  game  and  berries  abounded  along  the  river,  so 
that  the  people  had  to  go  there  to  get  them  for  food. 
At  last,  the  loss  of  life  caused  by  the  monster  became 
so  terrible,  that  the  Squamisht  Indians  had  lost  nearly 
half  their  people;  and  now  no  one  dared  to  go  up 
the  Arm,  so  that  the  people  feared  that  they  would 
starve.' 

"  '  In  one  of  the  villages  there  was  a  young  man 
who  had  seen  the  misfortune  of  his  people  and  pitied 
them.  He  felt  so  sorry  for  them  that  he  at  last  deter- 
mined that  he  would  sacrifice  himself  for  his  race  by 
killing  this  monster,  even  though  it  cost  him  his  life. 
One  day  he  went  to  his  family  and  bade  them  good- 
by,  saying  that  he  was  going  away  and  should  not 
be  back  for  a  long  time.  That  day  he  went  into  the 
mountains  and  did  not  return  again.  In  the  moun- 
tains he  fasted  for  many  days,  and  prayed  to  the 
spirits,  and  at  length  one  night  when  he  was  getting 
very  weak,  he  dreamed  that  a  large  white  goat  stood 


64  JACK   THE   YOUNG    CANOEMAN 

near  him  as  he  slept  and  spoke  to  him,  for  a  long  time, 
telling  him  to  take  courage  and  advising  him  what  he 
should  do.  The  next  day  the  young  man  went  farther 
into  the  mountains  and  gathered  certain  roots  and 
herbs,  and  after  he  had  dried  them  and  pounded  them 
into  powder,  he  mixed  them  with  some  sacred  oil,  and 
rubbed  the  mixture  over  his  whole  body,  leaving  no 
part  of  his  skin  untouched.  Then  he  walked  down 
the  mountains  to  the  shore  of  the  inlet,  and  dived 
into  the  water.  For  five  years  he  lived  in  the  water, 
scarcely  ever  coming  out  on  shore;  and  in  all  these 
five  years  he  never  spoke  to  a  man.  He  became  so 
much  at  home  in  the  water  that  he  could  swim  faster 
than  a  seal  or  a  salmon,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time 
his  spiritual  power  was  so  strong  that  he  could  call 
up  to  him  the  fishes  or  the  seals  and  lift  them  into  the 
canoe. 

"  '  Now  he  was  ready  to  fight  the  monster.  He  took 
with  him  two  spears,  one  in  each  hand;  swam  to  the 
mouth  of  the  North  Arm,  dived  under  the  monster, 
and  thrust  the  spears  into  it.  Then  there  was  a  fierce 
and  terrible  fight;  but  at  length  the  battle  ended,  and 
the  monster  was  dead.  The  young  man  was  badly 
wounded,  and  expected  to  die.  He  floated  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  like  a  dead  salmon.  As  he  lay 
there  on  the  water,  he  heard  the  sound  of  a  paddle, 
and  soon  a  canoe  came  by  him,  and  in  the  canoe  sat 
his  brother.  The  two  recognized  each  other,  and  the 
brother  lifted  the  wounded  man  into  the  canoe  and 
took  him  to  the  shore.  The  wounded  man  said  to 
him :  "  My  brother,  take  me  up  into  the  mountains 
and  gather  there  certain  roots  and  herbs.  These  you 
must  dry  and  then  cook  a  little.  Then  pound  them 
into  a  fine  powder,  mix  them  with  oil  of  the  medicine- 
fish,  and  rub  this  oil  all  over  me,  leaving  no  part  of  my 
body  untouched."  The  brother  did  so,  and  immedi- 
ately the  young  man  rose  from  the  ground,  and  walked 


AN   UNEXPECTED    BEAR  65 

about,  sound  and  whole.  Then  the  two  brothers 
walked  home  to  the  village,  and  since  that  time,  the 
monster  has  not  been  seen  on  the  North  Arm.'  " 

''  That 's  a  good  story,  Mr.  Fannin,  a  bully 
story,"  said  Jack.  ''  I  wish,  though,  that  I  knew 
enough  about  the  language  to  get  along  without  an 
interpreter." 

*'  Why,  if  you  are  willing  to  give  a  little  attention 
and  thought  to  the  matter,  you  can  learn  this  Chinook 
jargon  easily  enough.  There  is  no  grammar  to  bother 
you,  and  I  am  sure  that  you  will  pick  it  up  very 
quickly." 

''  I  must  try  and  do  so,"  replied  Jack,  "  if  I  am  going 
to  stay  in  this  country." 

That  night  a  council  was  held  in  Mr.  Fannin's  shop, 
and  the  plans  of  the  two  Americans  were  discussed  at 
length.  After  a  good  deal  of  talking,  Mr.  Fannin 
agreed  to  accompany  them  on  their  canoe  trip.  He 
would  go  back  with  them  to  Victoria  when  they  were 
ready,  and  prepare  for  the  voyage.  All  hands  were 
gratified   at  this   decision. 

''  But  now,"  said  Fannin,  "  before  you  leave  here,  I 
think  that  you  had  better  go  up  to  the  head  of  the 
North  Arm  and  make  a  hunt  there  for  goats.  Of 
course,  there  's  a  probability  that  you  may  have  plenty 
of  hunting,  on  the  trip,  and  there  is  also  a  probability 
that  you  may  have  no  hunting  at  all.  We  may  have 
good  weather  and  favorable  winds,  in  which  case 
everything  will  run  as  smoothly  as  possible.  We  may 
have  almost  continuous  rains,  and  head  winds,  and  in 
that  case  we  shall  have  to  work  very  hard  at  the  pad- 
dles all  day  long,  to  make  any  progress  at  all.  I  am 
like  most  other  people.  I  always  think  that  any  short 
trip  that  I  am  going  to  take  will  turn  out  well  —  a  good 
deal  better  than  I  had  anticipated ;  but  I  have  travelled 
in  canoes  so  much  about  the  shores  of  this  Province, 
that  I  know  perfectly  well  that  we  shall  meet  with 

5 


66  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

many  difficulties  and  delays.  I  do  not  look  for  any 
danger. 

''  If  you  feel  like  making  a  hunt  here  I  will  get 
Seammux  and  another  Indian  and  two  canoes,  and 
we  can  go  up  the  Arm,  to  where  we  were  to-day, 
climb  the  mountains,  camp  there  for  a  couple  of  nights, 
have  a  hunt,  come  back  here,  take  the  stage  for  West- 
minster, and  from  there  go  to  Victoria.  By  doing 
this,  as  I  said  before,  you  will  be  sure  of  at  least  one 
hunt.  On  the  trip  you  will  be  pretty  sure  to  kill  some- 
thing, perhaps  enough  to  satisfy  you  as  to  white  goats. 
What  do  you  say  ?  " 

''  Well,  sir,"  said  Hugh,  ''  I  am  getting  to  be  a  little 
old  to  climb  mountains,  but  at  the  same  time  I  should 
like  to  go  up  to  the  top  of  those  that  we  saw  to-day. 
I  don't  care  so  much  about  the  hunting,  but  I  would 
like  to  go  up  where  I  could  see  off  a  little  way.  Al- 
most ever  since  I  left  the  ranch  we  've  been  in  the  tim- 
ber, or  else  in  big  towns,  shut  in  so  that  I  have  n't  had 
any  chance  to  use  my  eyes.  I  'm  not  used  to  that,  and 
I  would  like  to  have  a  big  view  once  more.  What  do 
you  say,  son  ?  "  he  added,  turning  to  Jack. 

"  Tell  me,  Mr.  Fannin,"  said  Jack,  ''  what  game  will 
we  be  likely  to  see  on  top  of  those  mountains  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  ''  I  never  have  hunted  there. 
I  can  only  tell  you  what  the  Indians  say.  They  report 
goats  as  plenty.  They  say  that  there  are  some  bears; 
and  they  describe  good-sized  birds,  which  I  think  must 
be  ptarmigan.  At  all  events  they  speak  of  them  as 
birds  about  as  big  as  the  grouse  we  have  down  here, 
but  as  turning  white  in  winter.  This  of  course  fits  the 
ptarmigan.  I  don't  know  whether  they  are  the  willow 
ptarmigan  or  the  white-tail  ptarmigan.  I  should  be 
delighted  if  they  proved  to  be  the  latter.  Besides  that, 
there  may  be  all  sorts  of  rare  northern  birds  up  there. 
You  see,  it 's  pretty  high  up,  quite  above  the  timber 
line,  according  to  what  the  Indians  tell." 


AN    UNEXPECTED    BEAR  67 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  that  sounds  mighty  nice,  and  I 
vote  in  favor  of  going,  if  Hugh  thinks  best." 

''  I  say  '  go,'  "  said  Hugh.  "  Now  what  does  Mr. 
James  say?  "  he  added,  turning  to  the  latter  gentleman 
who  sat  silent,  smoking  his  pipe. 

"  Mr.  James  says,"  said  that  gentleman,  "  that  he 
wishes  with  all  his  heart  that  he  could  go  with  you,  and 
was  not  obliged  to  return  to-morrow  to  New  Westmin- 
ster. By  bad  luck  I  have  business  there  which  can- 
not be  put  off;  and  so,  I  must  return  on  the  stage. 
You  others  had  better  stay  here  and  miake  your  hunt, 
and  then  when  you  come  back  you  can  tell  me  about 
it." 

So  it  was  decided.  The  next  morning  Mr.  James 
took  the  stage  for  town,  while  Fannin,  Hugh,  and  Jack 
began  to  get  Indians,  canoes,  and  provisions  together, 
for  their  camping  trip  in  the  mountains. 


CHAPTER  VI 

OF   INDIANS   IN    ARMOR 

The  next  morning  was  a  busy  one  for  all  hands.  A 
messenger  had  been  sent  across  the  Inlet  to  summon 
Seammux  and  another  Indian,  and  Mr.  Fannin's 
camp  outfit  was  brought  down  from  the  loft,  got  to- 
gether and  cleaned;  and  provisions  were  bought.  By 
the  middle  of  the  day,  Seammux,  and  an  Indian  named 
Sillicum,  had  crossed  the  Inlet,  and  anchored  their 
canoes  close  to  the  shore.  Then  the  blankets,  the  food, 
and  the  mess  kit  were  carried  down  and  stowed  in  the 
boat,  and  by  that  time  it  was  noon.  Immediately  after 
the  midday  meal  the  party  set  out. 

Mr.  Fannin  had  proposed  that  he  and  Jack  should  go 
in  the  small  canoe  with  the  lighter  load,  and  that  Hugh 
should  go  in  the  canoe  with  the  two  Indians,  who, 
being  stronger  and  far  more  used  to  paddling  than  the 
white  men,  could  move  along  at  a  better  rate. 

"  You  and  I,"  said  Fannin,  '^  although  our  canoe  is 
smaller  and  lighter,  will  have  a  good  deal  harder  time 
in  getting  along  than  the  Indians.  I  suppose  that  you 
have  never  paddled  much,  and  I  have  n't  either,  for  a 
number  of  years.  But  now  that  you  are  going  to 
make  a  canoe  trip  you  must  learn  to  paddle  and  must 
be  able  to  do  your  share  of  the  work." 

*'  Of  course  I  have  paddled  some,"  said  Jack,  "  in  a 
birch-bark  canoe,  but  I  have  never  done  much  of  it." 

"  No,"  said  Fannin,  ''  I  suppose  you  have  just 
paddled  around  a  few  miles  for  the  fun  of  the  thing, 
but  you  will  find  that  if  you  undertake  to  paddle  here 
for  hours,  or  for  a  whole  day,  that  it  gets  to  be  pretty 
tiresome  work  before  the  sun  has  set." 


OF    INDIANS    IN   ARMOR  69 

*'  Yes,"  said  Jack,  *'  I  should  think  it  would  be  tire- 
some. Quite  different  from  riding  a  horse  along  over 
the  prairie." 

Mr.  Fannin  turned  to  Hugh,  saying:  "Mr.  John- 
son, it  won't  be  necessary  for  you  to  paddle  at  all, 
unless  you  feel  like  doing  so.  The  Indians  will  do  all 
that.  They  are  both  good  canoemen,  and  all  you  will 
have  to  do  is  to  sit  in  the  boat  and  smoke  your  pipe." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  can  certainly  do  that  without 
much  trouble.  On  the  other  hand,  I  think  it  might 
be  well  to  take  along  another  paddle  for  me,  in  case  we 
are  in  water  that  is  running  strongly  against  us." 

Another  paddle  having  been  secured,  they  stepped 
on  board  the  canoes,  pushed  off,  and  were  soon  on 
their  way  up  the  inlet. 

The  tide  was  running  strongly  in  from  the  sea  and 
for  an  hour  or  two  their  progress  was  very  good.  At 
first  Jack  was  a  little  awkward  with  his  paddle,  for  the 
canoe  was  wider  than  any  that  he  had  ever  seen  be- 
fore ;  and  he  was  thus  obliged  to  paddle  with  straighter 
arms.  Mr.  Fannin  told  him  not  to  pay  any  attention  at 
present  to  the  direction  of  the  canoe,  but  to  leave  all 
that  to  the  stern  paddle,  which  he,  himself,  wielded. 
So  Jack  paddled  steadily  on  one  side  of  the  canoe,  but 
kept  his  eyes  straight  ahead  and  watched  the  direc- 
tion toward  which  the  bow  pointed.  They  reached 
the  North  Arm,  and  turning  north,  followed  the  west- 
erly bank,  and  about  six  o'clock  reached  and  passed 
up  by  the  island  just  below  the  head  of  the  Arm.  Here 
Fannin  spoke  to  the  Indians,  and  after  some  little  talk 
they  turned  toward  the  shore ;  and,  when  the  bank  was 
reached,  unloaded  their  canoes,  and  prepared  their 
camp.  The  top  of  the  bank  was  four  or  five  feet  above 
the  water's  level,  and  the  soil  was  quite  dry. 

Mr.  Fannin,  looking  carefully  about  for  a  camp, 
chose  a  somewhat  elevated  spot :  and  explained  to 
the  Indians  where  the  fire  should  be  made  and  the 


70  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

beds  placed.  The  Indians  each  took  an  axe,  went  into 
the  woods  and  presently  returned,  dragging  a  number 
of  poles,  two  of  which  had  crotched  ends,  and  were 
already  sharpened  at  the  bottom.  These  were  driven 
into  the  soil  so  that  the  crotches  stood  about  six  feet 
from  the  ground.  Between  these  crotches  a  pole  was 
laid,  and,  resting  on  this  pole,  and  running  down  to 
the  ground  at  a  low  angle,  were  a  dozen  or  twenty  other 
poles,  the  whole  forming  the  sloping  roof  of  what  was 
to-be  a  brush  leanto.  Then  the  Indians  went  off  again 
and  presently  returned  with  armfuls  of  cedar  boughs 
with  which  they  proceeded  to  thatch  this  roof,  laying 
the  butts  up  and  the  points  down.  It  was  not  long 
before  they  had  a  thatched  shelter,  which  would  shed 
a  pretty  heavy  rain.  In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Fannin 
had  kindled  a  fire,  in  front  of  the  shelter  and  Hugh 
and  Jack  had  brought  in  a  good  pile  of  wood.  It  was 
not  easy  here  to  find  good  fire-wood,  however.  So 
great  is  the  prevalence  of  rain  and  fog  in  these  coast 
forests  that  all  the  fallen  tree  trunks  seemed  to  Jack 
too  wet  to  burn.  However,  Hugh  took  an  axe  and  be- 
gan to  cut  and  split  some  rather  large  logs,  that,  after 
the  outer  spongy  layer  of  moist  rotten  wood  had  been 
passed,  were  found  to  be  perfectly  sound  and  dry. 
The  Indians  now  began  to  cook  the  evening  meal  of 
fried  bacon,  fried  potatoes,  and  coffee ;  while  the  others 
brought  the  blankets  from  the  canoes  and  spread  their 
beds  under  the  leanto  so  that  their  feet  would  be  to- 
wards the  fire.  By  the  time  this  had  been  done.  Seam- 
mux  announced  that  the  food  was  ready,  and  before 
long  the  members  of  the  party  were  sitting  about  the 
fire,  highly  enjoying  their  meal.  After  they  had  eaten, 
Jack  said :  "  I  see,  Mr.  Fannin,  that  you  have  brought 
your  shot-gun  along,  this  time,  just  as  you  did  yester- 
day, when  we  came  out  here.  Do  you  carry  it  with 
you  everywhere?  " 

"  No/'  said  Fannin,  "  not  everywhere ;  but  I  gener- 


OF   INDIANS    IN   ARMOR  71 

ally  mean  to  have  it  with  me  whenever  I  go  any  great 
distance  from  home,  and  am  so  fixed  that  I  can  carry  it 
and  a  few  shells.  Of  course,  I  often  go  out  hunting 
just  to  get  meat,  and  then  I  leave  the  shot-gun  at  home ; 
but  when  I  go  out  hunting  for  pleasure,  and  especially 
when  I  go  into  a  new  country,  I  always  try  to  carry  it ; 
for  one  never  knows  when  he  may  see  a  new  bird,  or 
at  all  events  a  bird  that  he  cannot  recognize.  I  w^ould 
rather  get  hold  of  a  bird  that  I  've  never  seen  before, 
than  kill  almost  any  game  that  can  be  found  in  the 
country.  Of  course,  if  I  were  up  in  Vancouver  Island 
in  the  country  where  the  elk  range,  I  would  not  carry 
the  shot-gun,  because  I  would  want  to  get  an  elk  more 
than  any  bird  that  I  should  be  likely  to  see.  A  good 
many  of  those  elk  have  been  killed,  of  course,  but  I 
don't  know  that  any  of  them  have  ever  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  a  naturalist ;  and  we  none  of  us  know  what 
they  are.  They  may  be  the  same  elk  that  are  found  on 
the  plains  and  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  or  they  may  be 
something  quite  different.  I  should  like  to  be  the  man 
to  bring  out  a  skin  of  one  of  those  animals  and  to  have 
it  compared  with  the  elk  that  we  know  so  w^ell.  I 
have  seen  two  or  three  heads  of  the  Island  elk,  and 
to  me  they  don't  look  like  the  elk  of  the  East,  but  it 's 
a  long  time  since  I  saw  an  eastern  elk,  and  maybe  I 
have  forgotten  just  how  it  looks." 

"  Are  those  elk  plenty?  "  asked  Jack.  '*  Mr.  James 
spoke  about  them,  but  he  did  n't  seem  to  know  much 
more  than  the  fact  that  there  were  elk  up  on  the  Island, 
back  of  Comox." 

"  No  one  knows  much  about  them,"  replied  Fannin. 
''  They  live  in  the  thick  timber,  high  up  on  the  moun- 
tains, and  mainly  on  the  western  slope.  The  Indians 
kill  them  sometimes,  and  bring  in  the  skins  and  sell 
them,  but  not  often.  Most  of  the  skins  they  use  to 
make  clothing  of,  or  else  for  ceremonial  robes,  or  for 
armor." 


72  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

"Armor?"  queried  Jack;  ''that  is  something  new 
to  me.  I  never  knew  that  Indians  wore  armor.  They 
have  shields,  of  course ;  and  I  've  seen  plenty  of  these ; 
and  a  very  good  protection  they  are,  for  they  will  stop 
an  arrow,  and  are  likely  to  turn  a  ball  from  an  old- 
fashioned  trade  gun.     Is  n't  that  so,  Hugh?  " 

''  Yes,  son,"  replied  Hugh,  "  that 's  all  true  enough ; 
but  Indians  do  wear  armor  sometimes;  or,  at  least, 
there  are  stories  told  of  their  wearing  armor,  but  it 
was  always  something  that  they  had  got  from  the  white 
men,  and  not  anything  that  they  had  made  themselves." 

"  Why,  how  's  that,  Hugh  ?  That 's  something  that 
you  never  told  me,  and  I  don't  think  I  ever  heard  the 
Indians  speak  about  it." 

"Maybe  not,"  said  Hugh,  thoughtfully.  "When 
I  come  to  think  of  it,  I  don't  believe  the  Blackfeet  ever 
had  anything  of  that  kind ;  but  the  Pawnees  did,  and 
so  did  the  Cheyennes  and  the  Arapahoes.  I  will  have 
to  tell  you  that  story  some  time." 

"  Tell  it  now,"  said  Fannin ;  and  Jack  added :  "  Yes, 
tell  it  now,  Hugh." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  it 's  quite  a  long  story,  but 
I  '11  tell  it  to  you  if  you  like.  But  before  I  begin  I  '11 
tell  you  how  I  first  heard  about  this  armor.  Way 
back,  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  I  used  to  hear  the 
Pawnees  talk  about  an  iron  shirt  that  they  had.  They 
talked  about  it  pretty  freely,  but  I  never  got  to  see  it. 
As  near  as  I  could  tell,  it  was  something  to  be  worn  on 
the  body;  perhaps  hung  around  the  neck  and  tied 
around  the  waist  and  under  the  arms.  In  other  words, 
it  did  n't  cover  up  the  whole  body,  but  was  something 
like  a  breastplate,  —  something  that  would  just  pro- 
tect a  man's  breast  and  belly  if  he  were  shot  at  or  cut 
at  from  the  front. 

"  Years  after  that,  when  with  the  Cheyennes,  I  heard 
about  a  shirt,  an  iron  shirt,  that  they  had;  and  when 
they  talked  about  it,  as  they  often  did,  I  found  out  that 


OF    INDIANS    IN    ARMOR  73 

this  shirt  that  the  Pawnees  had  they  had  captured  from 
the  Cheyennes,  who  once  owned  that  and  a  lot  more 
things  hke  it;  in  fact,  a  regular  suit  of  iron  clothes. 
There  was  a  cap  made  of  steel,  with  a  kind  of  a  mask 
that  let  down  in  front  over  the  face;  and  a  sort  of  a 
cape  from  behind  that  covered  the  neck.  There  was 
a  coat  that  covered  the  whole  body  and  the  upper  part 
of  the  arms,  and  laced  up  on  one  side ;  while  there  was 
a  pair  of  leggings  that  covered  the  legs  from  the  waist 
down  to  the  ankles.  According  to  the  Cheyenne's  tell, 
the  man  that  had  this  suit  of  clothes  on  could  stand  up 
and  let  people  shoot  at  him  all  day  long  and  he  never 
would  be  hurt.  But  they  said  that  these  clothes  were 
so  powerful  heavy  that  they  were  very  hard  to  wear; 
that  a  man  dressed  up  in  them  could  hardly  mount  his 
horse,  and  that  if  he  tumbled  off  and  fell  down,  it  was 
all  that  he  could  do  to  get  on  his  legs  again.  For  this 
reason  they  never  wore  the  whole  suit  of  clothes ;  but 
they  would  take  a  part  of  it  and  wear  it  into  battle, 
and  of  course  the  man  who  wore  it  could  go  right  into 
the  thick  of  the  shooting,  and  the  arrows  and  the  bullets 
would  not  hurt  him  at  all,  unless  he  happened  to  be 
hit  on  some  part  of  his  body  that  was  not  covered. 

"  Now,  I  think  it  was  along  about  1852  that  the 
Cheyennes  and  the  Pawnees  had  a  big  fight  on  Repub- 
lican River.  A  big  war  party  of  Cheyennes,  Sioux,  and 
Apaches,  Kiowas  and  Comanches  had  gone  out  to  kill 
all  the  Pawnees ;  they  were  going  to  wipe  the  Pawnees 
off  the  earth.  They  found  the  Pawnees  hunting 
buffalo  on  the  Republican  River,  and  attacked  them, 
and  they  had  a  big  fight,  in  w^hich  quite  a  number  were 
killed  on  both  sides,  and  among  them  a  lot  of  the 
bravest  of  the  Cheyennes.  A  big  chief,  *  Touching 
the  Cloud,'  wore  a  part  of  this  iron  clothing  —  only 
the  leggings,  they  say,  spread  out  over  the  breast.  He 
had  been  very  brave,  and  the  Pawnees  had  n't  been 
able  to  hit  him  at  all.    During  the  fight  he  charged  on 


74  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

a  single  Pawnee,  who  ran  away.  The  Pawnee  and 
Touching  the  Cloud  were  both  mounted,  and  Touching 
the  Cloud,  who,  notwithstanding  his  armor,  was  n't  tak- 
ing any  chances,  rode  up  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the 
Pawnee  to  strike  him.  Of  course  you  can  understand, 
that  coming  up  on  the  right-hand  side  the  Pawnee 
could  not  turn  around  on  his  horse  far  enough  to  shoot 
back  with  his  bow ;  whereas,  if  the  Cheyenne  had  rid- 
den up  on  the  left-hand  side,  the  Pawnee  could  have 
turned  around,  and,  pulling  the  bowstring  with  his 
right  hand,  could  shoot  at  the  Cheyenne.  But  as  bad 
luck  would  have  it,  this  Pawnee  that  Touching  the 
Cloud  was  going  to  strike  was  a  left-handed  man;  so 
just  as  the  Cheyenne  was  going  to  strike  him  he 
w^hirled  around  on  his  horse  and  shot  an  arrow  which, 
more  by  good  luck  than  skill,  I  reckon,  struck  the 
Cheyenne  in  the  right  eye  and  went  through  his 
brain. 

"  That  about  ended  the  fight,  and  the  Cheyennes  and 
their  party  went  off  licked. 

"  That  was  one  of  the  biggest  misfortunes  that  the 
Cheyennes  ever  had,  for  Touching  the  Cloud  was  a 
brave  warrior,  a  wise  man,  and  one  of  the  handsomest 
among  the  Cheyennes.  He  had  been  the  orator  for  the 
Cheyennes  at  the  Horse  Creek  Treaty  in  1851;  and 
later  had  gone  to  Washington;  and  then,  soon  after 
his  return,  was  killed,  as  I  tell  you." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  that 's  an  interesting  story, 
and  that  Indian  was  certainly  in  mighty  hard  luck.  I 
guess  it  was  fated  that  he  should  die." 

"  Well,  Hugh,"  remarked  Jack,  "  that 's  one  of  the 
best  stories  I  ever  heard,  and  it 's  queer  that  you  never 
told  it  to  me  before.  I  guess  there  are  lots  of  interest- 
ing things  that  you  have  seen  and  know  that  you  have 
never  let  me  hear  about." 

''  Maybe  there  are,  son ;  but  it  does  seem  to  me  that 
I  've  done  a  heap  of  talking  since  I  've  known  you ; 


OF    INDIANS    IN    ARMOR  75 

more  maybe  than  I  've  done  in  a  good  many  years 
before." 

''  But  where  did  this  armor  come  from,  Hugh  ?  " 
asked  Jack. 

''  Well,  I  was  going  to  come  to  that.  You  see,  after 
Touching  the  Cloud  was  killed,  the  Pawnees  captured 
the  armor  that  he  had,  and  have  kept  it  ever  since.  The 
rest  of  the  clothes  the  Cheyennes  had  a  few  years  ago. 
I  don't  know  what  has  become  of  them. 

"  I  asked  particularly  where  these  clothes  came  from, 
and  the  story  the  Cheyennes  tell  is  something  like  this : 
A  good  many  years  ago,  I  don't  know  whether  it  was 
fifty  or  a  hundred  years,  one  of  them  Mexicans  that 
used  to  come  up  trading  from  the  South  brought  this 
suit  of  clothes  with  him,  packed  in  a  box.  After  he 
had  been  trading  for  a  while  in  the  Arapahoe  and 
Cheyenne  camps,  he  opened  the  box  one  day  and  took 
out  these  iron  clothes,  and  showed  them  to  the  Indians. 
Pretty  soon  there  were  two  or  three  of  them  that  came 
to  understand  that  an  arrow  or  a  bullet  could  not  go 
through  these  clothes,  and  then  they  wanted  to  trade 
for  them ;  but  the  Mexican  let  on  that  he  did  n't  w^ant 
to  sell  them,  and  packed  them  again  in  the  box  and  put 
them  away.  You  see,  the  Alexican  could  count  on  get- 
ting a  big  price  for  these  things,  for  the  Indian  who 
owned  them  could  figure  on  being  a  pretty  big  man. 
In  the  first  place,  he  would  be  safe  in  going  into  battle ; 
and  in  the  second  place,  he  could  do  such  brave  things 
that  he  'd  get  up  an  almighty  big  name  for  himself 
right  away;  and  in  the  third  place,  all  the  tribes  that 
he  went  to  war  against,  would  soon  learn  that  he  could 
not  be  hurt  in  battle  and  would  think  that  he  had  some 
powerful  medicine  or  helper,  and  so  they  would  always 
run  away  when  he  was  with  a  party  that  attacked  them. 
So  the  possession  of  these  iron  clothes  would  make  a 
man  famous  for  bravery,  and  that  is  the  thing  of  all 
others  that  Indians  are  eager  for.     Well,  the  upshot 


76  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

of  it  was  that  these  Indians  began  bidding  against  each 
other  for  the  iron  clothes;  and  at  last  an  Arapahoe 
gave  the  Mexican  three  or  four  buffalo  horses  for 
them,  and  got  them.  After  a  little  while,  however, 
he  found  out  that  there  were  some  things  about  the 
suit  that  made  it  a  less  desirable  piece  of  property  than 
he  had  supposed;  and  when  a  Cheyenne  offered  him 
a  great  price  for  it,  he  sold  it  to  him ;  and  so  it  passed 
from  hand  to  hand,  parts  of  it  often  being  worn  in 
battle,  and  always,  or  almost  always  protecting  the 
wearer  from  any  harm.  That 's  all  I  know  about  the 
iron  shirt.  I  expect  it  was  one  of  those  old  coats  of 
mail  which  the  Spaniards  used  to  wear  in  early  days 
when  they  first  came  to  America." 

Hugh  stopped,  refilled  his  pipe,  which  had  gone  out 
while  he  was  talking,  leaned  over  and  took  up  a  coal 
out  of  the  ashes  and  deftly  applied  it  to  the  bowl  of  the 
pipe;  and  then,  after  getting  the  tobacco  well  alight, 
turned  to  Fannin  and  said :  "  Now  tell  us,  friend,  about 
this  armor  that  your  Indians  out  here  use." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  this  armor  is  not  of  white 
man's  make.  The  Indians  fix  it  up  themselves.  They 
make  long  shirts  of  elk-skin,  and  sew  into  them  straight 
pieces  of  wood,  sometimes  round,  and  as  thick  as  your 
finger,  sometimes  fiat  and  a  little  wider  than  a  common 
lath.  The  elk-skin  and  the  wood  make  an  armor  that 
will  stop  an  arrow  or  a  knife  thrust.  It 's  a  pretty 
clumsy  article  of  clothing,  and  an  Indian  who  wears 
one  of  these  coats  of  mail  can't  get  around  very  easily ; 
but  he  's  pretty  well  protected,  and  I  guess  feels  a  whole 
lot  braver  with  such  a  shirt  on  than  he  would  feel  if  he 
were  naked." 

"  I  guess  he  does,"  said  Hugh.  "  It 's  curious  the 
way  they  worked  that  thing  out  for  themselves.  Now, 
I  can  remember  when  I  first  came  out  on  the  plains  that 
sometimes  the  trappers,  if  they  were  in  a  bad  place  and 
surrounded,  used  to  wear  shirts  of  the  skins  of  two 


OF    INDIANS    IN    ARMOR  77 

black-tail  deer,  —  one  in  front  and  one  behind  and  tied 
under  the  arms.  They  said  that  those  skins,  when 
wet,  would  turn  an  arrow.  I  wonder  if  they  got  that 
from  the  Indians  ?    I  would  n't  be  a  mite  surprised. 

"  I  have  heard,  too,"  he  added,  ''  that  there  are  some 
other  Indians  that  use  armor  of  this  kind;  and  that 
the  Pueblo  Indians  that  live  down  South  in  Arizona 
and  New  Mexico  use  a  sort  of  basket  work  to  protect 
themselves  in  war.  Somebody  told  me  once,  but  I  can't 
remember  who  it  was,  that  some  of  the  Southwest 
people  wore  shirts  lined  with  cotton  that  would  stop  an 
arrow;  and  I  know^  for  sure  that  some  of  the  plains' 
Indians  wadded  their  shields  with  buffalo  hair  or  with 
feathers,  which  also  helped  to  stop  the  arrows.  I  expect 
likely  there  's  a  good  deal  more  of  this  armor  business 
than  we  know  anything  about.  For  all  I  know,  maybe 
there  have  been  books  written  about  it." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  we  ought  to  get  an  early 
start  to-morrow  morning  if  we  are  going  to  go  up  to 
the  head  of  the  Arm  and  climb  the  mountains.  I  guess 
we  'd  better  turn  in." 

''  I  reckon  we  had,"  said  Hugh ;  while  Jack  said : 
"  I  'm  not  a  bit  sleepy,  and  I  wish  you  'd  both  go  ahead 
and  tell  some  more  Indian  stories." 

"  Too  late  now,"  said  Fannin.  "  I  guess  we  '11  have 
plenty  of  time  for  Indian  stories  a  little  later;"  and 
before  long  they  had  all  turned  into  their  blankets. 


CHAPTER   VII 

SEAMMUX    IN    DANGER 

They  were  early  astir  the  next  morning.  It  took 
but  a  little  while  to  get  breakfast,  and  to  load  the 
canoes,  which  were  soon  on  their  way  up  the  North 
Arm.  By  noon  they  had  reached  a  point  at  the  foot 
of  the  large  island  near  its  head,  above  which  rose  the 
great  bare  peak  which  they  had  seen  two  or  three  days 
ago,  and  on  which  lay  a  large  bank  of  snow.  Here 
they  landed.  They  unloaded  the  canoes,  and,  taking 
them  out  of  the  water,  carried  them  a  little  distance 
into  the  forest  and  covered  them  with  branches.  Then 
the  blankets  and  provisions  were  made  up  into  back 
loads,  and,  the  Indians  bearing  most  of  the  burdens, 
the  party  set  out  to  climb  the  mountain.  It  was  a 
long,  steep  clamber,  and  it  w^as  not  until  five  and  a 
half  hours  later  that  they  reached  the  border  of  the 
timber,  from  which  the  unwooded  summit  rose  still 
higher. 

Seammux  advised  making  camp  on  the  edge  of  the 
timber,  declaring  that  a  camp-fire  made  higher  up  on 
the  mountains,  where  the  goats  ranged  and  fed,  would 
be  likely  to  frighten  them ;  and  before  camp  was  made 
and  supper  cooked  and  eaten,  darkness  settled  down, 
so  that  there  was  no  opportunity  that  night  of  seeing 
anything  in  the  hunting  grounds.  The  climb  had  been 
a  difficult  one,  and  especially  hard  on  the  white  men, 
whose  muscles  were  unused  to  this  sort  of  exercise. 
There  was  no  disposition  for  conversation,  and  all 
hands  sought  their  blankets  soon  after  the  meal  was 
eaten. 


SEAMMUX    IN   DANGER  79 

The  next  morning  they  were  up  by  dayhght;  and 
after  breakfast,  leaving  the  timber  behind  them,  started 
toward  the  summit,  passing  up  a  beautiful  grassy 
swale,  toward  the  higher  land.  It  was  absolutely  still, 
except  for  the  occasional  call  of  a  gray  jay  in  the  timber 
or  the  chatter  of  a  flock  of  cross-bills. 

Just  before  they  reached  the  summit  a  dense  fog 
settled  down  over  the  mountains  and  at  once  cut  off 
every  distant  view.  The  air  was  cool,  the  fog  heavy 
and  wet,  and,  as  it  was  useless  to  travel  through  this 
obscurity,  they  halted  and  sat  about  waiting  for  the 
air  to  clear.  As  they  sat  there,  impatiently  hoping  that 
the  mist  would  clear  away,  suddenly  out  of  the  fog, 
and  close  by  them  flew  two  birds,  which  looked  to 
Jack  like  cedar  birds,  but  cedar  birds  bigger  than  he 
had  ever  seen  before. 

''  Bohemian  Waxwings,"  said  Fannin,  as  he  grasped 
his  shot-gun.  He  rose  to  his  feet  to  follow  them, 
when  the  older  Indian  spoke  to  him  warningly,  and 
after  an  exchange  of  a  few  sentences  Fannin  sat  down 
again. 

''  What  is  it,  Mr.  Fannin?  "  asked  Jack.  "  Are  you 
going  to  try  to  get  them?  " 

''  No,"  said  Fannin ;  "  I  w^anted  to,  but  Seammux 
here  says  if  I  fire  a  shot  it  wall  scare  the  goats,  and  we 
shall  not  see  one  to-day.  I  don't  believe  it ;  but  on  the 
other  hand,  I  don't  know  half  as  much  about  goats  as 
the  Indian  does ;  and  as  we  came  up  here  to  get  goats, 
I  am  not  going  to  do  anything  that  might  interfere 
with  our  getting  them." 

*'  Of  course  I  don't  know  anything  about  goats," 
said  Jack ;  ''  but  I  've  heard  that  they  are  very  gentle 
and  not  easily  disturbed  by  noise.  That 's  what  the 
Indians  have  told  me,  but  of  course  we  can't  tell  how 
true  it  is." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  the  Blackfeet  and  Kutenais  all 
say  that  you  can  fire  many  shots  at  a  goat ;  and  others. 


8o  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

not  far  off,  within  easy  ear-shot  of  the  firing,  will  pay 
no  attention  to  the  noise." 

*'  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  we  came  up  here  to  get 
goats,  and  those  are  what  we  must  try  for." 

It  was  nearly  noon  when  a  light  breeze  began  to 
blow,  and  the  fog  seemed  to  grow  thinner ;  and  a  little 
later,  without  the  least  warning,  the  great  bank  of  fog 
which  had  hung  over  the  mountains  rolled  away,  and 
the  sun  burst  forth  from  a  cloudless  sky.  They  could 
now  see  that  they  were  on  the  crest  of  a  mountain  ridge 
that  separated  the  valley  of  the  North  Arm  of  Burrard 
Inlet  and  Salmon  River  from  that  of  Seymour  Creek 
to  the  west.  The  divide  they  were  on  was  broken  and 
uneven,  made  up  of  sharp  ridges,  deep  ravines,  and 
rounded,  smooth  and  sometimes  almost  level  stretches. 
Everywhere  on  the  high  divide,  except  on  the  tops  of 
the  rocky  ridges,  the  ground  was  covered  with  heather, 
soft  and  yielding  under  foot,  yet  good  to  walk  over. 
As  they  moved  along  the  ridge,  they  could  see  at  almost 
every  step  fresh  signs  of  goats.  None  were  in  sight, 
but  this  meant  nothing;  for  although  the  country  was 
open  and  the  eye  could  cover  miles  of  territory,  in  any 
direction,  yet  the  ground  was  so  broken  that  goats 
might  be  anywhere  close  to  them  and  still  be  out  of 
sight. 

After  a  little  while  Seammux  left  the  party  and 
started  down  tiie  side  of  the  ridge  toward  Seymour 
Creek;  but  he  had  hardly  gone  two  hundred  yards 
when  he  dropped  to  the  ground,  clambered  up  a  short 
distance  toward  them,  and  made  signs  for  them  to 
come. 

"There,"  said  Fannin,  "Seammux  sees  something; 
I  hope  it 's  in  a  place  where  we  can  get  to  it." 

"  I  hope  so,"  said  Jack,  "  and  that  it 's  not  too  far 
down  the  hill.  Anything  that  we  kill  down  there  of 
course  has  got  to  be  carried  up  again." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  the  easiest  way  to  find  out 


SEAMMUX   IN   DANGER  8i 

where  it  is,  is  to  go  down  to  the  Indian ;  but  go  care- 
fully ;  this  plant  under  foot  is  mighty  slippery,  and  you 
don't  want  to  fall  down  and  break  your  gun  or  knock 
off  the  sights." 

They  scrambled  down  to  the  Indian,  who,  as  they 
approached,  made  signs  for  them  to  be  cautious.  When 
they  had  reached  him,  he  pointed  to  the  top  of  the  bank 
below  him,  and  they  advanced  to  look  over  it,  suppos- 
ing that  they  might  see  goats,  three  or  four  hundred 
yards  away,  that  would  have  to  be  carefully  stalked. 
But  instead  of  that,  when  they  peered  cautiously  over 
it,  there  w^ere  four  of  the  white  beasts  placidly  feeding 
on  the  hillside,  within  thirty  yards  of  them.  The  curious 
animals  stood  knee-deep  in  the  heather,  and  seemed  to 
be  carefully  picking  out  certain  plants  which  grew  here 
and  there  among  it.  Their  horns  were  sharp,  shining 
black,  and  directed  a  little  backward;  and  on  each 
chin  was  a  beard,  reminding  one  of  that  of  a  buffalo, 
and  easily  explaining  the  common  name  "  goat  "  given 
to  them.  The  animafs  seemed  so  unsuspicious  that 
Fannin  hardly  felt  like  firing  at  them;  but  to  Jack, 
who  had  never  before  killed  a  goat,  no  such  thought 
occurred.  He  was  anxious  to  secure  his  animal.  There 
were  four  shots,  for  the  young  Indian,  Sillicum,  carried 
a  musket,  though  Seammux  had  none ;  and  it  was  but 
a  moment  before  the  four  goats  lay  stretched  on  the 
mountain  side. 

''  Well,"  said  Jack,  as  they  stood  over  the  animals 
which  the  Indians  were  now  preparing  to  skin,  ''  that 
is  about  the  simplest  piece  of  hunting  that  I  ever  did. 
These  goats  don't  seem  to  be  much  more  suspicious 
than  so  many  buffalo." 

"  No,"  said  Hugh,  "  they  are  certainly  gentle  beasts, 
and  that 's  just  what  I  've  always  heard  about  them 
from  the  Indians." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  now  that  I  have  killed  one  goat, 
I  don't  feel  as  if  I  cared  very  much  to  kill  any  more." 

6 


82  JACK   THE   YOUNG    CANOEMAN 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Fannin,  "  there  's  not  much  sport 
in  it.  You  must  remember  that  these  goats  are  scarcely 
ever  disturbed,  for  no  white  men  ever  come  here  to 
hunt;  and  I  don't  beheve  the  Indians  come  once  in 
five  years.  It 's  very  possible  that  these  goats  never 
saw  a  man  and  never  heard  a  shot  before  to-day." 

By  this  time  the  Indians  had  dragged  three  of  the 
goats  to  a  level  spot,  where  they  could  work,  and  then 
went  off  to  bring  the  fourth  one.  Seammux  had  just 
seized  it  by  the  hind  leg  to  pull  it  up  to  this  level  place, 
when  suddenly  the  goat  came  to  life,  sprang  to  its  feet, 
and  began  to  run  down  the  hill,  dragging  Seammux 
after  it.  The  Indian  was  plucky  and  would  not  let  go, 
and  his  companion  hurried  to  his  aid.  The  ground 
grew  more  and  more  steep,  and  presently  the  Indian 
and  the  goat  fell  and  began  to  roll  over.  Fannin,  fear- 
ing lest  Seammux  might  get  a  bad  fall,  shouted: 
"  Kloshe  nannitch  (Look  out),  Seammux."  Seammux 
loosened  his  hold  of  the  goat,  and  tried  to  stop  himself 
by  grasping  at  the  grass  and  weeds ;  but  his  momentum 
was  too  great.  The  goat  continued  to  roll  down  the 
hill,  and  disappeared  from  sight;  and  Seammux,  roll- 
ing after  the  goat,  also  disappeared. 

"  I  am  afraid  he  may  have  had  a  bad  fall,"  said  Fan- 
nin, as  he  started  running  down  the  hill  toward  where 
the  Indian  had  vanished.  Sillicum  had  seated  himself 
on  the  ground  at  the  top  of  the  steep  place,  and  was 
slowly  hitching  himself  down  toward  what  seemed  to 
be  the  edge  of  a  cliff.  Hugh  and  Jack  were  close  be- 
hind Fannin.  When  they  reached  the  top  of  the  steep 
place,  which  was  only  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high,  Hugh 
said :  "  Hold  on  here ;  I  '11  anchor  myself  to  this  little 
tree,  and  reach  my  gun  down;  and  you,  Fannin,  let 
yourself  down  by  it  as  far  as  you  can,  and  reach  your 
gun  down,  and  Jack  can  get  to  the  edge.  He  's  the 
lightest  of  the  lot." 

"  Will  he  be  sure  to  hold  on?  "  inquired  Fannin. 


■ms^ 


■  '^^^^^^Z' 


SEAMMLX    ALSO    ROLLED    AFTER    THE    GOAT,    AND    HE,    TOO,    DIS  \  I'l'L  \RED l^Uirf    $2 


SEAMMUX   IN    DANGER  83 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh.  ''  Don't  bother  about  Jack, 
he  '11  do  it."  It  took  but  a  moment  for  Hugh  to  pass 
his  arm  around  the  tree;  and,  holding  his  rifle  by  the 
muzzle,  he  stretched  it  down  the  slope,  and  Fannin 
quickly  passed  down.  Grasping  the  rifle  above  the 
stock,  he  reached  his  gun  down  nearly  to  the  edge  of 
the  slope.  Jack  quickly  scrambled  down  beside  them, 
and,  holding  on  by  Fannin's  gun,  at  last  found  himself 
on  the  edge  of  the  sheer  cliff ;  and  looking  over,  he  saw, 
but  a  few  feet  below  him,  caught  in  the  top  of  a  fir  tree 
that  grew  in  a  crevice  of  the  rock,  Seammux,  looking 
anxiously  up  at  him.  Below  him  there  was  a  fall  of 
a  hundred  feet  or  more,  and  on  the  rocks,  at  the  bottom 
of  the  cliff,  lay  the  carcase  of  the  goat. 

"  Hurrah !  "  said  Jack.  "  Hold  on,  Seammux,  w&  '11 
get  you  up  all  right !  "  Then  he  called  back  to  Hugh 
and  Fannin :  "  He  's  caught  in  a  small  tree,  not  more 
than  ten  feet  below  where  I  am,  but  I  can't  reach  him. 
If  we  get  a  rope  we  '11  have  him  out  of  that  in  two 
minutes." 

"  All  right,"  said  Fannin,  "  that 's  easily  done.  Sil- 
licum  and  I  will  go  back  to  the  camp  and  fetch  the 
guys  on  the  tent,  and  any  other  rope  that 's  there.  It 's 
only  a  little  way,  and  we  '11  be  back  in  fifteen  minutes. 
What  sort  of  footing  have  you,  Jack  ?  " 

"  Perfectly  good,"  said  Jack ;  "  there  's  a  lot  of 
gravel  and  broken  stone  here,  on  which  there  is  no 
danger  of  slipping.     I  could  stay  here  for  a  w^eek." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  make  a  safe  place  before  you 
let  go  Fannin's  gun ;  and  then  stop  there  in  sight  of  the 
Indian.    It  will  make  him  feel  easier,  that  way." 

Jack  stamped  out  a  place  where  he  could  stand  and 
even  sit,  and  spoke  a  few  words  to  Seammux,  though 
the  latter,  of  course,  did  not  understand  what  he  was 
saying. 

Fannin  called  out  to  the  Indian,  in  a  loud  voice,  tell- 
ing him  that  they  were  going  for  a  rope  and  would 


84  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

soon  have  him  out  of  his  trouble.  Seammux  shouted 
back.  Fannin  and  SilHcum  dimbed  up  the  steep  hill; 
and,  leaving  their  guns  behind  them,  started  on  a  trot 
for  the  camp. 

To  those  who  were  watching  at  the  edge  of  the 
cliff,  they  seemed  gone  a  long  time,  but  it  was  really 
only  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  before  they  came  back 
again,  each  carrying  a  coil  of  rope. 

"  Good !  "  said  Hugh.  ''  I  'm  glad  you  've  got  back. 
It  seemed  a  long  time  to  us  watching  here,  and  a  good 
deal  longer  to  Seammux.  How  much  rope  have  you 
got  ?  Why,  that 's  bully !  There  's  forty  feet  in  one  of 
those  coils,  and  as  the  rope  is  a  little  light,  we  '11  just 
double  it." 

He  knotted  one  end  of  each  coil  about  the  little 
tree,  to  which  he  had  been  holding;  and,  tossing  the 
other  ends  to  Jack,  said :  *'  Now,  son,  double  this  rope 
and  then  throw  it  over  the  Indian,  and  tell  him  to  put 
it  under  his  arms.  How  's  the  edge  of  that  rock  there  ? 
Is  it  sharp  and  likely  to  cut  the  rope,  or  does  the  soil 
and  grass  overhang  it  ?  " 

Jack  knotted  the  rope,  and  called  back,  saying :  "  No, 
there  's  no  sharp  edge  to  be  seen ;  the  earth  and  the 
grass  run  right  out  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff  and  seem 
to  overhang  a  little." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Hugh.  "  Pass  the  rope  to  the 
Indian,  and  then  tell  us  when  you  are  ready  for  us  to 
begin  to  pull  up." 

Jack  called  to  Seammux  and  made  a  sign  that  he  was 
going  to  throw  the  rope  to  him.  Then  tossing  it  out, 
it  passed  over  the  Indian's  head  and  one  shoulder,  and 
was  caught  on  one  of  his  arms.  Jack  motioned  to 
Seammux  how  to  fix  the  rope,  and  he  did  so ;  and  then 
the  men  above  took  in  all  the  slack,  so  that  the  rope 
was  taut.  Then  Seammux  slowly  and  carefully  began 
to  turn  around  in  the  tough  bending  tree  that  held  him, 
and  to  work  in  toward  the  face  of  the  cliff;   and  the 


SEAMMUX    IN   DANGER  85 

men  above  began  slowly  to  haul  in  on  the  rope.  There 
was  a  moment  or  two  of  anxiety,  while  the  rope  at  the 
edge  of  the  cliff  could  be  seen  to  swing  and  twist  a 
little;  and  then  the  hand  and  arm  of  the  Indian  ap- 
peared above  the  cliff,  and  presently  the  head.  In  a 
moment  more  he  lay  with  his  breast  on  its  edge,  clutch- 
ing the  weeds  and  grass  with  a  vise-like  grasp.  After 
a  moment's  rest,  he  wriggled  on  and  raised  himself; 
and,  helped  by  the  rope,  in  another  moment  he  stood 
beside  Jack,  unharmed,  but  panting  hard. 

''  Now,  son,"  said  Hugh,  ''  take  hold  of  that  rope 
and  come  up  here."  Jack  did  so,  and  was  immediately 
followed  by  Seammux.  All  climbed  up  to  a  level  place 
and  threw  themselves  on  the  ground,  Seammux  still 
panting  from  his  exertion,  and  the  others  greatly 
relieved  that  the  danger  was  over. 

"  Well,  friend,"  said  Fannin  in  Chinook,  address- 
ing the  Indian,  "  you  wanted  that  goat  so  badly,  why 
did  you  go  only  part  way  with  him ;  why  did  n't  you 
keep  on  to  the  bottom  ?  " 

"  Ha !  "  said  Seammux.  "  I  did  n't  want  the  goat. 
I  thought  that  I  could  keep  him  from  having  a  bad  fall, 
but  I  held  on  too  long.  I  could  n't  stop  him,  and  when 
I  wanted  to  stop  myself,  I  could  n't  do  that,  either." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  you  're  a  lucky  man.  You 
must  have  a  powerful  helper  who  caused  you  to  roll 
over  the  cliff  just  where  that  small  tree  stuck  out." 

"  You  speak  truth,"  said  Seammux.  "  I  shall  make 
a  sacrifice  to  that  person  when  I  get  back  to  my  house." 

After  resting  a  little,  they  climbed  farther  up  the 
hill  to  where  the  three  goats  lay,  and  the  Indians  be- 
gan to  skin  them.  They  were  the  first  goats  that  Jack 
had  seen,  and  he  was  much  interested  in  examining 
them.  He  wondered  at  the  short,  sharp,  shiny  horns, 
and  the  short,  strong  legs,  the  great  hoofs  with  their 
soft  pad-like  cushions  on  the  soles ;  and  the  great  dew 
claws,  which  were  worn  and  rounded,  showing  that 


86  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

they  were  of  use  to  the  animal  in  cHmbing  up  and  down 
the  hills.  Hugh  pointed  out  to  him  a  curious  gland 
close  behind  the  base  of  the  horn ;  and  when  he  smelled 
of  it,  as  advised  to  do,  he  was  almost  overpowered  by 
the  strong  odor  of  musk  that  came  from  it. 

''  Well  now,  son,"  said  Hugh,  "  is  there  no  animal 
that  these  goats  remind  you  of?  " 

''There's  one,"  said  Jack,  ''and  I  thought  of  it 
when  I  was  pulling  the  trigger. 

"  They  remind  me  a  good  lot  of  the  buffalo.  Look 
at  the  hump  on  the  back,  the  low  hind  quarters,  the 
legs  with  the  long  hair  down  to  the  knees,  the  shaggy 
coat  and  beard.  These  are  all  things  that  suggest 
buffalo,  yet  I  suppose  this  animal  here  is  not  closely 
related  to  the  buffalo.  In  fact,  I  am  sure  they  are  not ; 
because  my  uncle  has  told  me  that  they  were  antelope ; 
but  I  am  sure  they  look  more  like  buffalo  than  they  do 
like  the  antelope  we  see  down  on  the  prairie." 

"  You  are  right,"  said  Hugh.  "  They  look  to  me  a 
good  deal  more  like  buffalo  than  antelope;  but  then 
Mr.  Sturgis  has  talked  to  me  about  antelope,  too; 
and  he  says  that  this  antelope  that  we  have  here  on  the 
plains,  is  n't  a  regular  antelope,  but  is  a  kind  of  an 
animal  by  itself,  that  has  n't  got  any  close  relations 
anywhere  else  in  the  world.  He  says  that  the  real 
antelopes  are  found  mostly  in  Europe  and  Asia  and 
Africa,  and  that  these  here  goats  are  the  only  regular 
antelope  that  we  've  got  in  America." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  that 's  so;  that 's  just  what  he 
has  told  me,  and  I  expect  he  knows." 

"  I  reckon  he  does,  son,"  said  Hugh. 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  that 's  all  gospel,  I  expect. 
I  don't  know  much  about  these  things  myself,  except 
what  I  've  read  in  books,  but  I  have  read  just  that." 

By  this  time  the  Indian  had  skinned  and  cut  up  two 
of  the  goats,  and  Fannin  said :  "  Well,  let 's  leave  the 
Indians  here  and  go  on  a  little  way  farther,  and  see 


SEAMMUX    IN    DANGER  87 

what  else  we  can  find."  He  picked  up  his  shot-gun 
and  said  to  Seammux :  ''  Carry  my  rifle,  Seammux, 
so  that  if  you  see  any  game  you  may  have  something 
to  shoot  with."  Then,  Fannin  carrying  the  shot-gun, 
the  three  began  to  cHmb  toward  the  summit,  working 
along  just  below  the  ridge. 

They  had  not  gone  very  far,  when  close  to  the  top 
of  another  ridge,  running  out  from  the  main  divide, 
they  discovered  a  large  billy-goat  walking  along  the 
very  edge  of  the  cliff.  He  was  some  distance  from 
them,  and  though  they  were  in  plain  sight  and  made 
no  effort  to  conceal  themselves,  he  paid  no  attention  to 
them.  When  they  had  come  within  three  or  four  hun- 
dred yards  of  him,  they  sat  down  to  watch  him.  He 
was  feeding  along,  walking  slowly,  and  stopping  now 
and  then  to  nip  some  plant  which  he  liked.  Soon  he 
turned  sharply  down  the  almost  vertical  cliff,  and 
w^orked  along  slowly  and  without  any  apparent  caution, 
farther  down,  about  thirty  or  forty  yards  to  where 
grew  a  large  broad  leafed  plant,  which,  Fannin  said, 
the  Indians  reported  to  be  a  favorite  food  of  the  animal. 
Here  he  stopped  and  began  feeding. 

As  they  watched  him,  and  commented  on  his  slow 
and  clumsy,  yet  absolutely  confident  movements,  a  loud 
hoarse  call,  almost  like  that  of  a  raven  rapidly  repeated, 
sounded  on  the  mountain  side  just  above  them.  All 
turned  their  heads  to  look,  and  saw  a  flock  of  eight 
grouse  standing  with  outstretched  necks,  gazing  at 
them. 

'*  Ptarmigan !  "  said  Fannin.  "  I  must  have  these." 
Loading  and  firing  in  quick  succession,  he  shot  the 
eight  birds.  "'  I  hope  they  are  white  tails,"  he  said. 
"  These  are  the  first  that  I  have  ever  seen,  in  this  part 
of  the  country ;  "  —  and  he  clambered  up  to  gather  his 
prize. 

''Look  at  that  goat!  "  cried  Jack;  and  they  turned 
their  heads  to  look  at  the  animal,  which  was  still  feed- 


88  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

ing  on  the  very  edge  of  the  cHff  in  the  same  uncon- 
cerned manner  as  before  the  shots  had  been  fired. 
Yet  he  could  not  have  failed  to  hear  them,  for  the 
Indians,  who  were  much  farther  off,  afterward  spoke 
of  hearing  the  reports. 

The  birds  were  not  the  white-tailed  ptarmigan,  as 
had  been  hoped.  Besides  that,  they  were  in  the  last 
stage  of  moult;  the  plumage  was  worn  and  ragged, 
and  they  were  hardly  fit  to  skin,  Fannin  said.  But  it 
was  interesting  to  Fannin  and  to  Jack  to  have  found 
them  on  these  mountains. 

Leaving  the  goat  still  enjoying  his  meal,  our  friends 
pushed  on.  They  climbed  a  high  peak  from  which  the 
whole  range  was  visible  toward  the  north  and  the  south, 
and  far  off  to  the  south  the  two  Indians  were  seen 
apparently  approaching  some  game. 

Before  either  had  fired  a  shot,  a  heavy  fog  obscured 
the  whole  scene ;  but  through  it,  a  little  later,  came  the 
sound  of  shot  after  shot  until  nine  had  been  counted, 
and  Hugh  remarked :  "  Sounds  like  a  battle  down 
there."  They  learned  later  that  Seammux  had  fired 
nine  shots  at  one  goat  before  getting  it,  and  his  ex- 
penditure of  ammunition  was  the  cause  of  more  than 
one  joke  at  his  expense. 

By  this  time  having  had  all  the  hunting  of  goats 
that  they  wanted,  they  decided  to  return  to  the  camp. 
Before  reaching  it  they  were  joined  by  the  two  Indians, 
each  carrying  on  his  shoulders  a  heavy  load  of  goat 
skins  and  meat.  They  had  almost  reached  the  camp, 
and  were  resting  on  the  top  of  the  highest  knoll  above 
it,  when  Seammux,  whose  eyes  were  constantly  roving 
over  the  country,  pointed  in  the  direction  of  Seymour 
Creek  and  said :  "  I  think  that 's  a  bear."  In  the 
bottom  of  the  ravine,  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
from  where  they  were,  some  dark  objects  were  seen, 
and  the  glasses  showed  these  to  be  a  bear  and  three 
good-sized  cubs.     There  were  hills  on  either  side  of 


SEAMMUX    IN    DANGER  89 

the  animals,  and  to  approach  them  was  not  difficult. 
Yet  the  very  easiness  of  the  hunting  took  away  from 
its  pleasure.  The  animals  were  unsuspicious ;  the  cover 
good;  there  were  three  good  rifles.  A  short  stalk 
brought  the  hunters  close  to  the  bears. 

Fannin  said :  "  Jack,  you  kill  the  old  one,  and  we  '11 
take  the  cubs.  I  will  whistle,  and  when  she  looks  up, 
you  shoot."  It  all  happened  according  to  schedule,  and 
sooner  than  it  takes  to  tell  it  the  four  bears  lay  dead. 
That  night  there  was  plenty  of  fresh  meat  in  camp. 
A  side  of  young  bear  ribs  was  roasted  by  Hugh,  some- 
what as  they  used  to  roast  deer  or  buffalo  ribs  on  the 
plains,  and  they  were  pronounced  excellent  by  all  hands. 
There  was  abundant  broiled  goat  meat,  which  was 
deemed  good  by  the  Indians;  but  somewhat  lacking 
in  flavor  by  the  white  men.  After  the  meal  was  over 
and  the  pipes  were  going,  Mr.  Fannin  asked  Jack  his 
opinion  of  the  day's  sport. 

''  Well,"  said  Jack,  ''  there  's  lots  of  game  here,  it 's 
a  good  hunting  country,  and  it 's  full  of  interesting 
life,  but  the  fault  I  have  to  find  with  it  is  that  it 's  too 
easy  to  get  your  game.  A  man  does  n't  have  to  work 
hard  enough.  He  's  pretty  sure  that  if  he  keeps  his 
eyes  open  and  uses  ordinary  precaution,  he  can  ap- 
proach close  enough  to  these  very  gentle  animals  to 
get  them  every  time.  To  my  mind,  half  the  fun  of 
hunting  anything  is  the  uncertainty  as  to  whether  you 
are  going  to  be  successful  or  not.  If  every  time  you 
take  your  rifle  and  start  out  you  are  sure  that  you  are 
going  to  get  some  game,  there  is  no  more  interest  in 
it  than  there  is  in  killing  a  beef  for  food  at  the  ranch, 
or  in  butchering  hogs  on  a  farm.  Take  away  the  ele- 
ment of  uncertainty  in  hunting  or  fishing,  and  you  have 
nothing  left.  An  Indian  who  goes  out  to  kill  buffalo 
does  not  regard  the  getting  of  the  meat  as  fun,  but 
as  hard  work ;  just  as  you  or  I  might  feel  that  pitching 
hay  or  riding  the  range  for  wages  was  work." 


90  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

'*  That 's  so,  son;  you  've  figured  it  out  just  right," 
said  Hugh.  "  It  is  work.  The  Indian  gets  his  pay  in 
meat  and  the  skins.  The  white  man  gets  his  pay  in 
dollars  and  cents,  so  many  of  them  a  day  or  a  month. 
Now,  when  the  white  man  goes  hunting,  he  does  it 
with  the  idea  that  he  is  having  fun,  that  he  is  doing 
something  opposite  from  work;  but  when  the  Indian 
goes  hunting  he  knows  that  he  is  working,  and  work- 
ing hard.  I  suppose,  maybe,  it 's  just  the  difference 
between  being  a  savage  and  being  civilized." 

*'  I  agree  with  you,  Jack,"  said  Mr.  Fannin,  ''  that 
there  's  no  fun  whatever  in  hunting  such  as  we  've  had 
to-day.  Of  course,  if  we  were  off  on  a  trip  and  needed 
meat  for  food,  we  would  be  glad  to  kill  game  just  for 
the  purpose  of  eating  it,  but  not  for  the  fun  of  hunting. 
The  more  a  man  works  for  his  game,  the  more  difficult 
it  is  to  get,  the  greater  his  satisfaction  in  his  success. 

''  Well,  to-morrow,  I  think,  we  can  perhaps  get  down 
home  again ;  and  if  we  can,  we  '11  start  on  the  stage 
for  Westminster  the  day  after,  and  get  to  Victoria 
the  following  night.  Then  we  can  make  our  start  for 
the  North." 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE    COAST    INDIANS    AND    THEIR    WAYS 

Two  days  later  the  party  was  once  more  in  Vic- 
toria. The  sail  from  New  Westminster  to  Victoria 
had  been  very  delightful.  After  the  swift  run  down  the 
Fraser  River,  between  high  walls  of  evergreen  with 
their  backgrounds  of  distant  gray  mountains,  the  boat 
passed  out  on  the  broad  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia. 
In  every  direction,  save  to  the  west,  the  view  was  of 
mountains  backed  by  mountains ;  and  above  and  be- 
yond them  all  was  Mount  Baker,  raising  its  sharp 
white  cone  toward  the  heavens.  To  the  south  were  the 
deep  waters  of  the  Gulf,  dancing  and  sparkling  in  the 
sunlight,  and  dotted  by  thousands  of  islands.  Beyond, 
and  over  them  all,  was  seen  the  mainland  of  the  United 
States,  with  ranges  of  snow-clad  mountains,  above 
and  beyond  which  one  would  sometimes  catch  a 
glimpse  of  majestic  Ranier.  After  the  mouth  of  the 
river  had  been  left,  Fannin  called  his  companions' 
attention  to  an  interesting  point. 

*'  I  want  you  to  watch  the  water  from  now  on,  and 
notice  before  long  when  the  boat  leaves  the  current  of 
the  river  and  enters  the  waters  of  the  Gulf.  You  see 
the  river  is  constantly  carrying  down  a  lot  of  mud 
and  silt  which  must  be  mighty  fine;  for,  instead  of 
sinking,  it  runs  away  out  here  into  the  Gulf  before 
it  disappears;  and  before  long  you  will  see  a  change 
in  the  color  of  the  water  where  we  leave  the  muddy 
current  of  the  Fraser  and  pass  into  the  clean  waters 
of  the  Gulf." 

Jack  and  Hugh  were  on  the  lookout  for  this,  and 


92  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

finally  the  point  was  reached  where  the  turbid  and 
clear  waters  met. 

Hugh  said :  "  Why,  that 's  just  the  way  the  two 
streams  look  where  the  Missouri  runs  into  the  Missis- 
sippi. The  Mississippi  is  black  and  clear;  and  the 
Missouri,  of  course,  is  yellow  and  muddy.  You  can  see 
the  line  plain  always  there." 

**  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  and  I  have  heard  father  talk 
about  two  streams  in  France,  I  think,  where  you  see 
the  same  thing.  One  of  them  is  the  Rhone,  but  the 
name  of  the  other  I  have  forgotten." 

A  little  later  the  steamer  plunged  in  among  the 
islands.  The  channel  followed  was  difficult  on  account 
of  the  strong  tides  that  were  constantly  rushing  back- 
ward and  forward  through  the  narrow  passage.  Care- 
ful piloting  is  needed  here,  for  at  certain  stages  of  the 
tide  it  is  difficult  even  for  a  strong  steamer  to  stem  it ; 
and  if  the  vessel  is  not  kept  straight  she  may  be  whirled 
around,  and  that  may  be  the  last  of  her.  The  sail 
was  a  succession  of  surprises.  On  many  of  the  islands 
were  settlers;  but  with,  often,  only  a  house  or  two  in 
sight.  Passing  around  a  point,  Indians  could  be  seen 
fishing  in  the  troubled  waters  or  camping  upon  the 
shore.  There  were  birds  in  great  multitudes ;  and  not 
a  few  sailing  craft  were  seen  passing  here  and  there 
on  errands  of  their  own. 

After  their  two  or  three  days  of  hard  physical  effort 
and  life  in  camp,  the  dinner  at  the  Driard  House  tasted 
very  good.  The  next  morning  they  started  out  to 
study  the  matter  of  transportation  to  the  North. 

Mr.  MacTavish  and  Fannin  both  said  that  if  a  small 
steamer  or  launch  could  be  hired  it  would  enable  them 
to  go  a  great  deal  farther,  and  see  things  much  more 
easily,  at  only  a  slight  added  expense.  Some  days, 
therefore,  were  spent  in  searching  the  wharves  of  the 
town  and  in  excursions  to  other  places  in  trying  to 
secure  what  they  wanted,  but  without  success.     There 


[ 


THE   COAST    INDIANS 


93 


were  several  small  launches,  exactly  suited  to  their 
purposes,  but  all  these  had  been  engaged  for  the  salmon 
fishing  on  the  Fraser.  The  run  of  fish  was  likely  to 
begin  in  a  short  time.  That  year  it  was  expected  to 
be  very  heavy,  and  all  the  canneries  were  making  great 
preparations  for  the  catch.  There  seemed  no  way  to 
get  steam  transportation.  Failing  this,  the  next  best 
thing  was  to  take  a  canoe  and  proceed  by  that  slow 
means  of  conveyance  as  far  north  as  time  would  per- 
mit. Fannin,  whose  experience  made  him  a  good  judge 
of  what  should  be  done,  recommended  that  they  take 
the  steamer  to  Nanaimo,  distant  from  Victoria  about 
seventy  miles.  Near  that  town  there  was  an  Indian 
village,  where  canoes  and  help  could  be  had,  and  from 
where  a  start  could  be  made.  When  this  plan  had  been 
discussed  and  agreed  on,  it  remained  only  to  get  to- 
gether a  mess  kit,  hire  a  cook,  and  take  the  steamer. 
A  whole  day  was  spent  in  this  work.  The  cook  engaged 
was  a  Virginian,  known  as  "  Arizona  Charley,"  a  man 
whose  wanderings,  including  almost  all  of  the  United 
States,  had  at  last  brought  him  to  Victoria.  He  proved 
an  excellent  man,  faithful  and  willing;  and  —  unlike 
most  cooks  —  unusually  good-natured.  As  soon  as  he 
was  engaged  the  party  transported  their  blankets, 
arms,  and  mess  kit  to  the  wharf;  and  early  the  next 
morning  they  were  ploughing  the  Gulf  toward  the 
north. 

On  this  voyage,  although  so  short.  Jack  saw  much 
that  was  new  to  him.  As  the  vessel  moved  out  from 
the  wharf  he  was  leaning  on  the  rail  with  Fannin, 
looking  down  on  the  passengers  who  occupied  the  lower 
deck.  ^'  It 's  hard  for  me  to  believe,  Mr.  Fannin,"  he 
said,  "  that  these  are  Indians ;  they  do  not  look  much 
more  like  the  Indians  of  the  plains  and  the  mountains 
than  a  Chinaman  does.  There  the  men  all  wear  robes 
or  blankets.  Here  they  all  wear  white  men's  clothes, 
including  shoes  and  hats.     They  seem  civilized,  quite 


94  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

as  much  as  the  Itahan  laborers  that  we  are  beginning 
to  see  so  many  of  in  the  East." 

''  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  they  've  changed  greatly  since 
I  came  into  the  country,  and  changed  for  the  better. 
They  're  a  pretty  important  element  nowadays  in  the 
laboring  population  of  the  country;  and  for  certain 
kinds  of  labor  they  are  well  fitted.  They  make  good 
deck-hands,  longshoremen,  and  fishermen;  and  many 
of  them  work  in  the  lumber  mills  and  canneries. 
They  're  very  strong  and  are  able  to  carry  loads  that 
a  white  man  could  n't  stagger  under.  Many  of  them 
work  regularly  and  lay  up  money." 

''  I  should  think  from  what  I  have  seen,  and  am  see- 
ing, that  their  natural  way  of  getting  around  is  in 
canoes.  They  must  be  skilful  canoemen,  are  n't  they?  " 
asked  Jack.  "  A  day  or  two  ago  I  saw  some  little 
children  not  more  than  three  or  four  years  old,  pad- 
dling with  the  older  people,  and  apparently  doing  it 
not  in  fun,  but  really  to  help." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  they  learn  to  paddle  before 
they  learn  to  walk.  I  suppose  it 's  because  they  see 
their  parents  do  it.  It 's  been  my  experience  that  the 
games  of  most  children  imitate  the  serious  pursuits 
of  their  parents." 

"  I  'm  sure  that 's  so,"  said  Hugh.  "  Among  the 
Indians  I  've  seen  it,  I  reckon,  a  thousand  times.  The 
little  boys  pretend  to  hunt,  just  as  their  fathers  do; 
and  the  little  girls  pretend  to  pack  wood  and  water,  just 
like  their  mothers.  I  've  seen  a  woman  trudging  down 
the  creek  with  a  back-load  of  wood  that  you  'd  think 
would  break  a  horse's  back;  and  following  her  would 
be  a  little  girl  hardly  big  enough  to  walk,  having  her 
rope  over  her  back,  and  tied  up  in  it  a  bundle  of  twigs. 
She  walked  along,  imitating  the  gait  of  her  mother, 
and  when  she  got  to  the  lodge  threw  down  her  load 
just  as  she  saw  her  mother  throw  down  hers." 

"  Well,  anyhow,"  said  Fannin,   "  you  can  see  that 


THE    COAST    INDIANS  95 

these  children,  doing  this  sort  of  work  from  babyhood 
until  they  're  grown  up,  would  get  to  be  mighty  skilful 
at  it;  and  you  can  understand  how  they  can  work  at 
it,  just  as  you  and  Hugh  here  can  get  on  your  horses  in 
the  morning  and  ride  until  dark ;  while,  if  I  did  that,  in 
the  first  place,  I  'd  have  to  be  tied  on  the  horse ;  and 
in  the  second  place,  I  would  not  be  able  to  walk  for  a 
week  afterward.  But  there 's  no  mistake  about  it, 
these  Siwashes  are  good  watermen." 

"  That 's  a  word  I  've  heard  three  or  four  times,  Mr. 
Fannin,"  said  Jack,  "  and  I  'd  like  you  to  tell  me  what 
it  is  —  what  it  means  —  Siwash." 

"  Well,  it  means  an  Indian,"  said  Fannin.  ''  It 's 
a  Chinook  jargon  word,  and  yet  it  don't  exactly  mean 
an  Indian  either.  It  means  a  male  Indian.  An  Indian 
woman  is  a  klootchman." 

"  Klootchman !  "  said  Jack.     "  That  sounds  Dutch." 

*'  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  I  don't  know  what  language 
it  is.  You  know  this  Chinook  jargon  is  a  language 
made  up  of  words  taken  from  many  tongues.  It 's 
called  Chinook;  but  I  don't  feel  sure  that  the  words 
in  it  are  mostly  from  the  Chinook  language.  I  guess 
Siwash,  for  example,  is  a  French  word  —  probably  it 
was  originally  saiwagc,  meaning  savage.  There  are 
lots  of  French  words  in  the  Chinook  jargon,  though 
I  can't  think  of  them  at  the  present  moment.  One  of 
them,  though,  is  Iccoii,  meaning  neck;  and  another  is 
lahache,  an  axe.  These  are  plain  enough ;  but  a  good 
many  of  the  words  are  taken  from  different  Indian 
languages,  and  are  just  hitched  together  without  any 
grammar  at  all.  It 's  a  sort  of  a  trade  language ;  a 
good  deal,  I  expect,  like  the  pigeon  English  that  the 
coast  Chinese  are  said  to  use  in  communicating  with 
white  men." 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Jack,  "  that  the  Siwashes  are 
mainly  fishermen,  are  they  not  ?  About  all  I  've  seen 
have  been  on  the  water  paddling  around  in  their  canoes. 


96  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

and  whenever  we  've  seen  them  doing  anything,  except 
paddHng,  they  have  been  fishing." 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  ''  you  're  right  about  that;  they 
are  fishermen,  or  at  least  they  derive  the  most  of  their 
subsistence  from  the  water.  Of  course  they  depend 
chiefly  upon  the  salmon,  which  they  eat  fresh,  and  dry 
for  winter  food ;  for  the  salmon  are  here  only  in  sum- 
mer. The  Indians  do  some  land  hunting.  They  kill 
a  good  many  deer,  and  some  mountain  goats,  but  their 
chief  dependence  for  food  is  the  salt-water  fish.  When 
the  salmon  begin  to  run  in  June  or  July,  and  before 
they  have  got  into  the  fresh  water  streams,  the  Indians 
catch  them  in  numbers  with  a  trolling  spoon.  Of 
course  the  Indians  do  considerable  water  hunting;  that 
is  to  say,  they  kill  seals,  and  porpoises,  and  now  and 
then  a  whale ;  but  what  they  depend  on  is  fishing." 

*'  It  means,"  said  Jack,  "  that  to  these  Indians  the 
salmon  are  what  the  buffalo  is  to  the  Indians  of  the 
plains." 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  that 's  about  it,"  and  Hugh 
added :  "  The  canoe  here  is  about  the  same  as  the  horse 
back  where  we  live." 

"  Just  about,"  agreed  Fannin. 

*'  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  that 's  all  mighty  curious, 
and  I  'm  mighty  glad  I  've  come  out  here  to  see  it  all. 
I  never  thought  about  it  much  before,  but  I  always  had 
an  idea  that  all  Indians  were  about  the  same  as  those 
I  knew  most  about ;  and  that  they  lived  about  the  same 
sort  of  lives.  Of  course  I  can  see  now  just  what  a  fool 
notion  that  was  to  have,  but  I  did  not  see  it  then." 

"  But,  Mr.  Fannin,"  said  Jack,  "  these  Indians  must 
have  a  lot  of  money.  They  are  all  provided  with  ordi- 
nary clothing,  which  they  must  buy ;  and  they  're 
pretty  well  fixed  apparently,  with  everything  that  they 
need.  Where  do  they  get  this  money  ?  Do  all  of  them 
work,  and  get  so  much  a  day?  " 

"  No,"  said  Fannin,  ''  not  by  a  jugful.     Some  of 


THE   COAST   INDIANS  97 

them  work,  and  work  pretty  steadily;  a  good  many 
work,  and  after  they  have  been  at  it  for  a  week  or  a 
month,  they  get  tired  of  it,  throw  up  their  jobs  and  go 
off  in  their  canoes.  They  do  considerable  trading  with 
the  whites,  however.  They  gather  a  great  deal  of  oil, 
and  this  is  one  of  the  main  articles  of  trade.  You  saw 
over  on  Burrard  Inlet  a  whole  lot  of  dog-fish.  Well, 
the  Indians  catch  lots  of  these,  and  take  the  liver  and 
throw  the  carcase  overboard.  The  liver  is  full  of  oil, 
which  brings  a  pretty  fair  price.  They  also  kill  lots  of 
porpoises,  and  porpoise  oil  is  salable.  Then,  they  make 
a  great  many  baskets;  mighty  good  ones  too,  they 
seem  to  be.  Some  of  them  are  water-tight,  perfectly 
good  for  cooking,  or  for  water  buckets.  They  also 
make  mats,  both  of  reeds  and  of  the  bark  of  the  cedar, 
and  these  are  useful  and  sell  well." 

"Well,"  said  Jack,  "how  do  they  live?  We've 
seen  some  tents  on  the  beaches,  but  I  suppose  that  in 
the  winter  time  they  must  have  something  more  sub- 
stantial to  live  in  than  these  tents." 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  of  course  they  do.  Though 
you  must  not  think  that  the  winters  here  are  like  the 
winters  we  have  back  East.  It 's  pretty  warm  here, 
and  we  have  little  or  no  snow  until  you  get  back  in 
among  the  mountains.  The  Siwashes  along  the  coast 
live  in  wooden  houses.  We  '11  see  a  lot  of  them  before 
long,  and  then  you  '11  know  that  they  are  better  than 
I  can  tell  you.  They  are  made  of  big  planks  split  off 
the  cedar,  and  roofed  with  the  same.  All  around  the 
house,  near  to  the  walls,  a  platform  is  built,  on  which 
the  people  sit  and  sleep.  In  the  middle  of  the  house 
the  ground  is  bare ;  and  it  is  there  that  the  fire  is  built 
for  cooking  and  for  warmth.  There  may  be  a  number 
of  families  living  in  one  of  these  houses,  each  family 
having  its  sleeping  place  —  its  room  you  might  call  it 
—  but  all  of  them  cooking  at  and  sitting  about  the 
common   fire.      The   roof   planks   do  not  quite   come 

7 


98  JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

together  at  the  peak  of  the  house  and  the  smoke  of  the 
fire  goes  out  through  the  hole.  Sometimes  the  roof 
beams  and  the  posts  which  hold  up  the  roof  in  front 
and  behind  are  carved  and  painted. 

*'  Close  to  some  of  the  houses  stand  tall  carved  poles, 
called  totem  poles.  One  may  be  carved  with  a  repre- 
sentation of  a  bear,  a  beaver,  a  frog,  and  an  eagle,  each 
animal  resting  on  the  head  of  the  one  carved  below  it 
on  the  pole.  They  are  queer  things  to  see,  and  if  you 
will  be  patient  for  a  few  days  we  '11  see  them ;  and 
maybe  we  '11  get  some  Indians  to  explain  them  to  us. 
They  have  something  to  do  with  the  family  history, 
and  some  people  say  that  each  of  these  animals 
that  is  carved  on  the  pole  represents  an  ancestor  or 
ancestors  of  the  man  before  whose  house  the  pole 
stands." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  I  'd  like  to  see  them.  But  from 
what  you  say,  and  from  what  I  have  seen,  the  Indians 
must  be  mighty  good  carvers.  The  canoes  that  we  've 
seen  had  queer  figures  on  them,  and  Mr.  MacTavish 
had  some  beautiful  pieces  of  carving  in  black  slate  that 
he  said  came  from  Queen  Charlotte  Islands ;  but  I  've 
forgotten  what  Indians  carved  them." 

*'  Oh,  yes,"  said  Mr.  Fannin,  "  that  is  Haida  work. 
All  the  Indians  north  from  Victoria  are  good  at  carv- 
ing. Of  course  the  animals  and  figures  that  they  rep- 
resent do  not  agree  with  our  ideas  of  how  these  things 
should  be  represented.  Most  of  the  figures  are  gro- 
tesque, but  they  show  fine  workmanship;  and  if  you 
give  any  of  these  Indians  a  model  to  copy  he  will  follow 
it  very  closely.  Up  in  the  North  they  will  hammer  a 
bracelet  or  a  spoon  for  you  from  a  silver  dollar;  and 
they  will  put  on  it  pretty  much  any  design  that  you  may 
give  them." 

"  I  see,"  said  Jack,  "  that  all  their  canoes  are  carved 
in  front;  and  the  prows  remind  one  a  little  bit  of  the 
pictures  of  the  old  Viking  ships;   and  then,  again,  of 


THE    COAST    INDIANS 


99 


the  still  older  boats  that  the  Romans  had,  only,  of 
course,  they  were  all  rowed  with  oars,  while  the  Indians 
use  paddles." 

''  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  these  canoes  that  we  have 
here  are  not  like  any  that  I  know  of  anywhere  else  in 
the  world.  They  're  all  made  out  of  a  single  stick  of 
wood  and  are  of  all  sizes.  There  's  one  up  at  the  Bella- 
Bella  village,  north  of  here,  that 's  said  to  be  the  biggest 
boat  on  the  coast.  It 's  one  of  the  old  war  canoes,  is 
eighty  feet  long,  and  so  deep  that  a  man  standing  in 
it  can't  be  seen  by  one  standing  on  the  ground  by  its 
side.  Such  a  canoe  as  that  could  only  be  made  in  the 
country  where  the  w^hite  cedar  grows,  a  wood  that  is 
light,  easily  worked  and  very  durable.  It 's  one  of  our 
biggest  trees  and  sometimes  grows  to  a  height  of  three 
hundred  feet,  and  runs  up  to  ten,  eleven,  or  twelve 
feet  thick  at  the  butt." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  with  a  tree  of  size  to  work  on 
I  can  easily  see  how  a  canoe  even  as  big  as  the  one  you 
speak  of  might  be  made ;  but  what  an  awful  long  time 
it  must  take  to  whittle  it  out !  I  should  think  that  the 
generation  that  began  such  a  boat  could  not  hope  to  see 
it  finished." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  ''  it 's  not  quite  as  bad  as  that, 
but  it  is  slow  work;  and  that  is  not  surprising  when 
you  think  that  they  have  no  tools  to  work  with  except 
the  most  primitive  ones.  After  the  cedar  stick  has  been 
felled,  and  it  has  been  found  that  no  harm  came  to  it 
in  its  fall,  they  go  to  work  and  shape  the  stick  as  well 
as  they  can  with  their  axes,  and  then  hollow  it  out  by 
fire.  In  other  words,  they  build  a  fire  on  the  top  and 
allow  it  to  burn  just  so  far  in  any  direction,  and  so 
deep.  After  they  have  used  the  fire  as  far  as  they  can 
to  advantage,  they  take  a  little  chipping  tool,  made  of 
a  blade  of  steel  attached  to  a  wooden  handle,  and  chip 
the  wood  off  in  little  flakes  or  slivers,  reducing  the 
whole  to  a  proper  thickness,  say  an  inch  or  an  inch 


100        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

and  a  half  for  a  canoe  thirty  feet  long.  They  have  no 
models,  and  the  eye  is  their  only  guide  in  shaping  the 
canoes ;  but  the  lines  are  always  correct,  and  as  grace- 
ful as  could  be  made  by  the  most  expert  boat-builder. 
When  they  have  shaped  the  canoe,  its  gunwales  are 
slightly  sprung  apart  so  as  to  give  some  flare  to  the 
sides,  and  are  held  in  position  by  narrow  braces  of 
timber  stretching  across  the  canoe  and  sewed  to  it  by 
cedar  twigs.  They  steam  these  twigs  in  the  hot  ashes 
so  that  they  become  pliable,  and  can  be  easily  used  for 
this  sewing." 

"  This  cedar  must  be  as  useful  to  these  Indians  as 
buffalo  hides  are  to  the  plains'  Indians,"  said  Jack. 
"  You  pointed  out  to  me  some  mats  made  of  cedar 
bark,  some  hats  and  some  rope,  all  of  the  same  material. 
Now  you  tell  me  that  the  canoes  are  made  of  cedar  and 
sewed  together  with  cedar  twigs." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Fannin,  ''  the  cedar  does  a  great  deal 
for  these  people.  I  told  you,  too,  that  they  built  their 
houses  of  it." 

"  There  are  two  different  types  of  canoes  on  this 
coast,"  he  continued,  "  one  belonging  to  the  South 
and  having  a  square  stern  and  a  bottom  that  is  almost 
flat,  and  the  Northern  canoe,  which  has  a  round  bottom 
and  an  overhanging  stern.  The  big  canoe  that  I  told 
you  about  at  Bella-Bella  is  a  Northern  canoe.  In  old 
times  these  big  canoes  were  used  by  the  Northern 
Indians  on  their  war  journeys  against  their  enemies 
to  the  South.  They  would  come  down,  perhaps  seventy 
or  eighty  men  in  a  canoe,  attack  a  village,  plunder  it, 
capture  a  lot  of  the  people  for  slaves,  and  then  take 
to  their  canoes  again,  paddling  back  to  their  homes. 
These  Northern  Indians  were  great  hands  to  go  off 
on  war  parties.  They  were  a  good  deal  more  warlike 
than  these  people  down  here." 

"  This  cedar  that  you  talk  about,"  asked  Hugh. 
"  Is  there  much  of  it  to  be  had  ?    I  have  n't  seen  any- 


THE    COAST    INDIANS  loi 

thing  yet  that  looked  Hke  the  cedar  that  we  see  back 
East." 

"  No,"  said  Fannin,  "  what  you  're  thinking  of  is 
the  red  cedar,  in  some  of  its  forms,  I  guess  —  the 
juniper.  This  is  the  white  cedar,  and  looks  as  much 
as  anything  like  a  small  tree  that  folks  use  for  hedges 
back  East,  and  call  arbor  vitse;  only  I  never  saw  any 
of  those  arbor  vitses  grow  anything  near  as  big  as  the 
smallest  of  these  cedars  here.  Like  the  Eastern  cedar, 
however,  this  white  cedar  is  very  durable.  I  remember 
seeing  in  the  woods  once  a  fallen  log,  on  which  was 
growing  a  Douglas  fir  two  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter. 
The  seed  of  the  fir  had  fallen  on  the  log  and  sprouted, 
and,  as  the  fir  grew,  it  sent  down  its  roots  to  the 
ground  on  either  side  of  the  cedar  log,  so  that  at  last 
it  straddled  it.  The  fir  was  about  two  and  a  half  feet 
in  diameter,  and  so  it  had  been  growing  there  a  great 
many  years,  but  the  fallen  cedar  log  was  to  all  appear- 
ance as  sound  as  if  it  had  not  been  lying  there  a  year. 
The  cedar  log  was  covered  with  moss  and  most  of  its 
limbs  had  rotted  off,  but  when  I  scraped  away  the 
moss  and  sounded  the  stick  and  cut  into  it,  I  could  not 
see  that  it  was  at  all  decayed." 

''Well,  Mr.  Fannin,"  asked  Jack,  "how  do  they 
mend  these  canoes  when  they  break  them?  Of  course 
they  must  be  running  onto  the  bars  and  onto  the  rocks 
all  the  time,  and  if  a  hole  is  punched  in  a  solid  wooden 
bottom  like  this  it 's  hard  to  mend  it  again." 

"  That 's  true,"  said  Fannin,  "  and  they  don't  mean 
to  let  the  canoe  grate  on  rocks  or  get  rubbed  on  the 
gravel  beach  if  they  can  help  it.  Notwithstanding  its 
durability,  cedar  wood  splits  very  easily.  Therefore 
the  Indians  take  the  greatest  care  of  their  canoes,  not 
bringing  them  up  on  the  shore  where  they  are  likely 
to  be  worn  or  rubbed,  but  always  anchoring  them  out 
in  deep  water;  or  else,  if  they  bring  them  to  shore, 
lifting  them  out  of  the  water  and  sliding  them  along 


102      Jack  the  young  canoeman 

the  bottom  pranks  —  th.al  alipost  every  canoe  has  two 
pair  of  —  above  the  reach  of  the  tide.  Although  it  is 
so  durable,  the  cedar  wood  splits  on  the  smallest  prov- 
ocation; and  once  or  twice  I  have  seen  a  canoe  that 
touched  roughly  on  the  rocks,  or  was  carelessly  knocked 
against  the  beach,  split  in  two  and  the  two  halves  fall 
apart.  Of  course  in  such  a  case  it  was  pretty  hard 
work  to  mend  the  canoe." 

"  I  should  say  it  would  be,"  remarked  Jack,  "  and 
I  don't  know  how  they  would  do  it." 

''  I  '11  tell  you.  They  carry  the  loads  up  on  the  high 
ground  to  dry,  and  then  they  take  the  canoe,  fit  the 
two  pieces  together  until  no  light  can  be  seen  through 
the  crack,  and  then  they  sew  them  together  with  cedar 
twigs  and  plaster  the  crack  over  with  gum.  I  've  seen 
a  vessel  mended  in  that  way,  make  a  long  cruise,  but 
I  confess  I  should  not  want  to  make  a  very  long 
journey  in  a  boat  patched  up  like  that." 

"I  don't  think  I  would  either,"  said  Jack.  "I 
should  n't  think  it  would  be  very  safe. 

*'  Mr.  Fannin,"  said  Jack,  after  a  pause,  "  I  sup- 
pose when  we  get  started  we  '11  have  to  paddle  all  the 
way?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  you  're  likely  to.  Of  course, 
if  the  wind  is  fair  these  canoes  can  sail.  There  's  almost 
always  a  chock  in  the  bottom  well  forward  in  which  a 
mast  can  be  stepped,  and  when  the  wind  is  fair  a  sail 
is  put  up  or  a  blanket  is  used.  That  helps  along 
amazingly." 

"  I  'm  glad  that  you  Ve  told  me  all  this,  for  now 
when  I  talk  with  people  up  here  on  the  coast  they  '11 
see  that  I  know  a  little  something  and  am  not  purely 
a  pilgrim." 


CHAPTER    IX 

PREPARATION    FOR   THE   VOYAGE 

While  Jack  and  Mr.  Fannin  had  been  talking  the 
vessel  had  been  moving  rapidly  northward.  The  pas- 
sengers were  a  mixed  lot.  On  the  upper  deck  were 
English,  Scotch,  French,  and  Americans,  while  on  the 
lower  were  Chinamen,  a  negro  or  two,  and  Indians. 
Many  of  these  had  considerable  bundles  of  baggage; 
and  with  the  Indians  were  their  w^omen,  their  children, 
and  their  dogs. 

The  rounded  islands  that  rose  everywhere  from  the 
water  showed  gray  rocky  slopes,  the  yellow  of  ripened 
grass,  and  here  and  there  clumps  of  evergreen  trees. 
The  scene  was  a  lovely  one. 

"  Mr.  Fannin,"  said  Hugh,  ''  I  wish  you  'd  tell  me 
w^hat  's  that  plant  that  I  see  everywhere  growing  in 
the  water.  I  suppose,  maybe,  it 's  a  kind  of  seaweed, 
but  it 's  bigger  than  any  seaweed  that  I  ever  heard 
tell  of,  and  there  's  worlds  and  worlds  of  it.  The  other 
day  on  the  beach  I  picked  up  some  of  its  leaves,  if 
that 's  what  they  are,  and  I  found  them  wonderfully 
tough.  I  found  I  could  n't  break  them  apart  with  my 
hands,  yet  they  seemed  soft  and  full  of  water." 

''  That 's  what  we  call  kelp,"  said  Mr.  Fannin,  "  it 
grows  in  deep  water,  and  its  roots  are  attached  to  rocks 
or  to  stones  or  even  to  the  sand  at  the  bottom,  and  the 
stalk  may  be  thirty  or  forty  feet  long.  Down  in  the 
deep  water  the  stem  is  very  slender,  often  scarcely  as 
thick  as  a  quill,  but  it  increases  by  a  gradual  taper, 
until  near  the  top  it 's  nearly  as  thick  as  a  man's  wrist. 
At  the  end  of  the  stem  or  stalk  is  a  globular  swelling 


104        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

which  varies  in  size,  but  may  be  as  big  as  a  baseball. 
From  the  top  of  this  swelling  point,  opposite  to  where 
it 's  attached  to  the  stem,  grows  a  bundle  of  a  dozen 
or  twenty  ribbon-like  leaves,  each  from  one  to  six 
inches  wide  and  from  four  to  six  feet  long,  and  fluted 
or  crimped  along  its  edge  for  the  whole  length.  The 
plant  is  brown  in  color  throughout.  Responding,  as  it 
does,  constantly  to  the  motion  of  the  water,  it  sometimes 
seems  almost  alive.  It 's  a  queer  plant.  Sometimes 
it 's  a  great  hindrance  to  the  man  who  is  travelling 
and  sometimes  a  great  help  to  him." 

''  I  don't  quite  understand  that,"  said  Jack.  ''  I  can 
see  that  it  might  be  hard  work  to  get  through  a  bed  of 
the  kelp  like  that  one  over  there  that  we  are  just  pass- 
ing, but  how  should  it  help  a  man  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  Fannin,  "  the  stalks  are  very  strong, 
and  I  've  seen  a  large  canoe  held  at  anchor  by  a  single 
stalk  of  the  kelp.  Then,  too,  a  big  bed  of  the  kelp  is 
a  great  break  to  the  sea.  The  waves  can't  break  over 
a  bed  of  kelp;  and  I  have  known  of  a  case  when  a 
sudden  squall  got  up,  where  a  canoe,  unable  to  reach 
shore  or  to  get  any  other  lee,  would  lie  behind  a  kelp 
bed  and  hold  onto  the  stalks  until  the  squall  was  past." 

"  Do  the  Indians  make  any  use  of  the  kelp?  "  asked 
Jack. 

**  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Fannin.  "  A  number  of  the 
Indians  along  the  coast  select  the  most  slender  stems, 
knot  them  together,  and  make  fishing  lines  for  the 
deep-sea  fishing,  on  which  they  catch  halibut  some- 
times weighing  two  hundred  pounds.  These  stems  are 
tremendously  tough,  and  they  almost  never  wear  out. 
A  man  may  coil  up  one  of  these  long  lines  and  hang  it 
in  his  house  for  six  months,  and  then,  if  he  takes  it 
down  and  soaks  it  in  water  over  night,  in  the  morning 
it  will  be  pliable  and  perfectly  fit  to  use." 

Hugh  had  been  listening  to  the  conversation,  but 
not  taking  any  part  in  it ;  but  now  he  pointed  off  over 


PREPARATION    FOR   THE   VOYAGE     105 

the  kelp  bed  and  said :  "  Look  there !  See  those  birds 
walking  around  on  the  weed.  I  reckon  they  are  cranes 
of  some  sort  or  other."  Fannin  looked  at  them  through 
his  glasses  and  said,  "  Yes,  that 's  just  what  they  are. 
Two  of  those  birds  are  great  blue  herons,  and  the 
others  are  large  birds,  but  I  can't  tell  just  wdiat  they 
are.  That 's  another  thing  that  the  kelp  is  useful  for. 
You  see  the  plants  grow  in  thick  beds,  and  the  stems 
are  continually  moving  in  the  current,  and  after  a 
while  they  get  tangled  and  twisted  up  so  that  it 's 
impossible  to  force  them  apart.  In  that  case  it 's  use- 
less to  try  to  force  a  canoe  through  them.  Then,  lying 
there  so  long  as  they  do,  and  keeping  the  water  quiet, 
a  great  deal  of  life  is  attracted  to  these  beds.  There 
are  many  fish  that  live  near  the  surface,  and  in  the 
warm  waters  there  are  crabs  that  live  among  the  stems 
and  sometimes  crawl  out  on  them  and  rest  in  the 
sunshine.  There  are  many  shells.  All  this  smaller 
life  entices  the  larger  life,  so  that  gulls  and  ducks  and 
sandpipers  are  often  seen  walking  along  or  resting 
on  the  kelp.  It  is  just  one  of  those  things  that  we  see 
often,  where  a  lot  of  specially  favorable  conditions  will 
attract  the  animals  that  are  to  be  favored  by  these 
conditions." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  can't  get  over  wondering 
at  all  these  things  I  am  seeing.  This  here  is  a  new 
world  to  me,  as  different  as  can  be  from  what  I  've 
been  used  to  all  my  life;  and  I  expect,  come  to  think 
about  it,  that  all  over  the  world  there  are  many  such 
other  strange  bits  of  country  that  would  astonish  me, 
just  as  much  as  this  does,  and  maybe  would  astonish 
you  all,  just  as  much  as  this  does  me." 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  I  guess  that 's  about  so." 
As  they  had  been  talking,   the  steamer  had  been 
winding  in  and  out  among  the  islands,  stopping  occa- 
sionally at  some  little  settlement,  and  now  and  then 
slowing  to  take  on  goods  or  passengers,  brought  off. 


io6        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

in  boats  or  canoes  from  some  little  house  that  stood 
on  one  of  the  yellow  hillsides,  half  hidden  among  the 
trees.  There  were  many  settlers  on  these  islands. 
Most  of  them  were  engaged  in  stock  raising.  Some 
of  the  islands  had  been  turned  into  sheep  ranges,  and 
the  settlers  that  had  gone  into  this  business  were  said 
by  Mr.  Fannin  to  have  done  well.  Certainly  there  was 
here  no  winter  which  could  by  any  chance  kill  the 
sheep,  while  food  was  abundant. 

As  the  boat  proceeded  the  settlements  became  fewer 
and  fewer,  until  at  last  most  of  the  island  seemed 
unoccupied.  All  three  of  the  travellers  kept  watching 
the  open  hillsides  in  the  hope  that  some  game  might 
be  seen,  but  none  showed  itself. 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Jack,  ''  that  there  are  some  deer 
on  these  islands,  are  there  not?  " 

''  Yes,"  replied  Fannin,  "  on  almost  all  the  larger 
islands  that  are  not  thickly  settled  there  are  a  good 
many  deer;  and  when  the  settlements  get  to  be  too 
thick  they  can  always  start  off  and  swim  to  another 
island  and  try  that  for  a  while,  and,  if  they  don't  like 
that,  pass  to  another." 

''  What  sort  of  deer  are  these?  "  asked  Jack.  "  Are 
they  like  the  one  we  killed  at  New  Westminster?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "they  are  just  like  that;  and 
I  suppose  they  are  the  regular  black-tail  deer ;  not  the 
big  fellow  that  you  have  out  on  the  plains,  which,  I 
understand,  is  properly  called  the  mule  deer.  This  is 
the  only  kind  found  along  this  north  coast,  as  far  as 
I  know,  until  you  get  up  far  to  the  north  and  strike 
the  moose.  Down  on  the  islands  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca, 
especially  on  Whidby  Island,  they  have  the  Virginia 
deer  and  plenty  of  them.  But  north  of  that  I  don't 
think  they  are  found." 

It  was  noon  when  they  passed  Gabriola  Island, 
where  they  had  heard  there  lived  a  man  who  owned  a 
launch.     They  landed  here,  hoping  that  possibly  they 


PREPARATION    FOR   THE   VOYAGE     107 

might  be  able  to  engage  this  for  their  trip,  but  soon 
discovered  that  the  boat  had  not  been  inspected  for  a 
year,  and  therefore  could  not  be  hired,  unless  the 
party  was  prepared  to  be  stopped  at  any  minute  by 
some  government  official  and  ordered  back  to  its 
starting  point. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  they  reached 
Nanaimo,  and  Fannin,  Hugh,  and  Jack  at  once  set 
out  for  the  Indian  village,  where  it  was  believed  a 
canoe  could  be  had.  The  brisk  walk  through  the 
quiet  forest  was  pleasant,  and  the  Indian  village  of 
half  a  dozen  great  square  plank  houses  interesting. 
After  some  inquiry  Fannin  and  a  big  Indian  drew  off 
to  one  side  and  held  a  long  and  animated  conversa- 
tion in  Chinook,  which,  of  course,  was  unintelligible 
to  the  other  two.  At  length,  however,  Fannin  an- 
nounced that  he  was  prepared  to  close  a  bargain  with 
the  Indian,  by  which  a  canoe,  large  enough  to  carry 
the  whole  party  and  their  baggage,  including  the 
necessary  paddles  and  a  bowman  and  steersman,  could 
be  hired  for  a  certain  price  per  day,  for  as  long  a  time 
as  they  desired.  After  a  short  consultation  it  was 
agreed  that  if  the  canoe  proved  satisfactory  it  should 
be  engaged,  and  a  start  made  the  next  morning.  The 
whole  party  adjourned  to  the  water's  edge,  where, 
drawn  up  on  the  beach  were  a  number  of  canoes,  all 
of  them  covered  with  boards,  mats,  and  boughs,  to 
protect  them  from  the  sun  and  rain.  The  canoe  in 
question  seemed  satisfactory,  and,  the  bargain  having 
been  closed,  the  Indians  promised  solemnly  that  they 
would  have  the  canoe  at  the  wharf  at  six  o'clock  the 
next  morning,  so  that  an  early  start  could  be  made. 

Returning  to  town,  the  stores  were  visited  and  a 
number  of  necessary  articles  purchased.  The  party 
was  already  well  armed,  having  three  rifles,  a  shot-gun, 
and  several  revolvers ;  but  a  mess  kit  had  to  be  bought, 
a  keg  for  water,  all  the  provisions  needed,  a  tent  of 


io8        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

some  kind,  some  mosquito  net,  rope,  fine  copper  wire, 
saddler's  silk  or  waxed  thread,  packages  of  tobacco, 
fishing  tackle,  and  many  small  articles  which  do  not 
take  up  much  room,  but  which,  under  special  cir- 
cumstances, may  add  much  to  one's  comfort.  Each 
of  the  party  also  provided  himself  here  with  a  set  of 
oil-skin  clothing.  They  knew  that  they  were  going 
into  a  country  where  much  rain  falls,  and  wished  to 
provide  against  that. 

After  all  their  purchases  had  been  made  and  they 
had  seen  them  transported  to  the  hotel  close  to  the 
water's  edge,  where  they  were  to  pass  the  night,  they 
started  out  to  learn  what  they  could  about  the  town. 

The  sole  industry  of  Nanaimo  at  that  time  was  coal 
mining.  Here  were  great  shafts  and  inclines,  worked 
day  and  night  by  a  great  multitude  of  miners.  Many  of 
them  were  Canadians,  but  many,  also,  were  quite  newly 
arrived  emigrants  from  the  Old  World,  —  Scotch, 
Irish,  and  Welsh.  The  coal  —  a  good  lignite  —  was  in 
considerable  demand  along  the  coast,  and  it  was  even 
said  that  it  was  to  be  imported  to  Puget  Sound  points 
to  supply  newly  built  railroads  there.  The  inhabitants 
of  Nanaimo,  and  indeed  those  of  Vancouver  Island, 
had  talked  much  about  a  proposed  railroad  that  had 
been  partially  surveyed  from  Victoria  up  through  the 
middle  of  the  island  to  Nanaimo.  Such  a  railroad,  it 
was  generally  thought,  would  be  an  enormous  benefit 
to  the  whole  island.  Nanaimo  was  not  an  attractive 
place.  The  coal-dust  with  which  it  was  everywhere 
powdered,  together  with  the  black  smoke  sent  forth  by 
the  chimneys,  gave  the  place  an  appearance  of  grimi- 
ness  which  seemed  to  characterize  most  coal-mining 
towns.  Just  why  towns  devoted  to  coal  and  iron  min- 
ing always  used  to  look  so  shabby  and  forlorn  and  dis- 
couraged, it  would  be  hard  to  say;  but  most  people 
familiar  with  such  settlements  in  old  times  will  agree 
that  this  was  usually  the  case.    It  may  have  been  that 


PREPARATION    FOR   THE   VOYAGE     109 

the  laborers  and  their  families  were  obliged  to  work  so 
hard  that  they  had  neither  time  nor  inclination  to 
devote  to  adorning,  even  by  simple  and  inexpensive 
methods,  their  dwellings  or  surroundings;  or  it  may 
have  been  that  their  work  in  the  mines  was  so 
fatiguing  that  it  rendered  them  blind  to  the  town's 
unattractiveness. 

Even  then  great  quantities  of  coal  were  mined  at 
Nanaimo.  But  as  there  were  no  railroads  on  Van- 
couver Island  the  coal  was  transported  to  its  destina- 
tion wholly  by  water.  The  coal  deposits  were  vast,  and 
people  believed  that  in  the  future  this  would  be  a  great 
mining  town,  and  might  yet  be  like  some  of  the  great 
mining  centres  of  Great  Britain. 

That  night,  after  supper,  as  they  were  lounging 
about  the  office  of  the  hotel.  Jack  said  to  Mr.  Fannin : 

"  You  have  told  me  a  lot  about  the  canoeing  and 
canoes  of  these  Indians,  Mr.  Fannin,  but  I  don't  think 
that  you  have  spoken  to  me  about  the  way  they  keep 
their  canoes  on  the  beach.  Those  we  saw  this  afternoon 
were  all  covered  with  mats  and  blankets,  and  I  can 
understand  how  it  might  be  necessary  to  keep  them 
protected  from  the  weather  in  that  way  if  they  were 
laid  up  for  a  long  time;  but,  as  I  understand  it,  the 
canoes  that  we  saw  were  being  used  every  day." 

''  That  is  true,"  said  Mr.  Fannin ;  "  they  are  in  use 
all  the  time,  but,  nevertheless,  Indians  take  the  greatest 
precaution  to  protect  them  from  the  weather.  It  is  easy 
enough  to  see  why  this  is,  if  you  consider  that  the  mak- 
ing of  a  canoe  is  tremendously  laborious,  and  at  best 
takes  many  months.  Now,  as  I  have  already  told  you, 
the  cedar  of  which  they  are  made  splits  very  easily 
indeed,  and  it  might  well  enough  be  that  exposure  to 
the  hot  sun  for  a  day  or  two  would  start  a  crack  which 
would  constantly  grow  larger,  and  ultimately  weaken 
the  canoe  so  that  it  could  not  be  used.  The  Indians  are 
far-sighted  enough  to  do  everything  in  their  power  to 


no   JACK  THE  YOUNG  CANOEMAN 

protect  their  canoes.  These  coast  Indians  take  a  great 
deal  better  care  of  their  canoes  than  they  do  of  any 
other  property  that  they  possess.  As  I  have  told  you, 
they  are  all  sea  travellers,  and  their  very  existence 
depends  on  the  possession  of  some  means  of  getting 
about  over  the  water.  I  do  not  know  anything  about 
it  personally,  but  I  understand  that  the  Aleuts  of 
Alaska,  and  the  Eskimo  too,  are  just  as  careful  about 
their  boats  as  these  Indians  are.  Of  course  it  is 
natural." 

"  Of  course  it  is,"  said  Hugh,  "  and  you  probably 
will  see  the  same  thing  in  any  class  of  men.  Look 
at  the  way  our  plains'  Indians  take  care  of  their  war 
horses  and  their  arms  and  war  clothes.  Those  are  the 
things  on  which  they  depend  for  food  and  for  protec- 
tion from  their  enemy ;  and  they  cannot  afford  to  take 
any  chances  about  them.  Of  course  their  war  clothes 
often  have  something  of  a  sacred  character;  but  you 
will  find  that  if  it  comes  to  a  pinch  an  Indian  will  stick 
to  his  fastest  running  horse  and  his  arms,  and  will  let 
his  war  clothing  go." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  ''  all  this  is  just  saying  that 
Indians  are  human  beings  like  the  rest  of  us." 

They  went  to  bed  pretty  early  that  night,  and  Fannin 
had  them  astir  before  the  day  had  broken  the  next 
morning.  On  going  down  to  the  wharf  they  found  the 
canoe  there,  just  off  the  shore,  and  the  two  Indians 
sitting  in  it,  holding  the  craft  in  its  place  by  an  occa- 
sional paddle  stroke.  It  took  the  men  but  a  short  time 
to  bring  down  all  their  baggage,  provisions,  and  mess 
kit  to  the  canoe  and  stow  the  load.  After  a  hasty  meal 
at  the  hotel  all  stepped  aboard  and  took  their  various 
stations.  Jack  had  been  surprised  to  see  how  large 
a  pile  their  baggage  made  before  they  begun  to  stow 
it ;  and  after  the  canoe  had  been  loaded,  he  wondered 
where  they  had  packed  it  all. 


CHAPTER    X 

THE    START 

The  sun  was  not  very  high  when  they  pushed  off. 
The  wind  blew  in  gusts  from  the  southeast  and  the  sky 
was  obscured  by  a  loose  bank  of  clouds  which  occa- 
sionally gave  down  a  little  rain. 

The  bow  paddle  was  wielded  by  a  gigantic  Indian, 
known  as  Hamset;  while  in  the  stern,  occupying  the 
position  of  steersman,  sat  a  much  smaller  man,  whose 
unpronounceable  Ucletah  name  had  been  shortened 
for  convenience  to  "  Jimmie."  Between  the  bow  and 
the  stern,  seated  on  rolls  of  blankets,  were  the  four 
whites  —  first,  Fannin,  then  Charlie,  the  cook,  then 
Hugh,  and  last  of  all  Jack.  Each  was  provided  with 
a  paddle,  and  they  worked  two  on  each  side  of  the 
canoe.  The  provisions  were  stored  in  one  box,  the 
mess  kit  in  another,  and  the  rolls  of  blankets  were 
placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe  so  as  to  trim  it 
properly.  The  canoe  was  quite  dry,  and  loose  boards 
on  the  bottom  would  keep  the  cargo  from  getting  wet, 
even  if  a  little  water  were  shipped. 

The  breeze  which  was  now  blowing  was  a  favorable 
one;  and  they  had  hardly  started  before  it  began  to 
rain  steadily  and  to  threaten  a  wet,  boisterous  day. 
Fannin  was  in  great  spirits  at  this  prospect;  for  he, 
better  than  any  one  else,  knew  what  a  few  days  of 
favoring  winds  would  accomplish  toward  hastening 
them  along  on  their  voyage.  As  the  rain  fell  harder 
mats  and  rubber  blankets  were  spread  over  the  guns 
and  beddinof.  The  sail  was  hoisted,  and  all  hands 
except  the   steersman  took   in  their  paddles   and   sat 


112        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

back  with  a  satisfied  air,  as  if  they  had  nothing  to  do 
except  to  watch  the  breeze  blowing  and  the  land 
moving  by  them. 

Farther  to  the  southward  there  had  been  many 
islands,  which  would  have  cut  off  the  breeze ;  but  here 
the  open  waters  of  the  Gulf  stretched  away  to  wind- 
ward for  twenty  or  thirty  miles,  and  there  was  nothing 
to  break  the  force  of  the  breeze.  As  they  advanced 
various  islands  appeared,  Texada  showing  a  high  peak 
above  the  fog ;  and  then  other  smaller  islands,  —  Den- 
man  and  Hornby. 

The  wind  kept  blowing  harder  and  harder,  until  at 
noon  quite  a  sea  was  running,  and  the  waves  began 
to  break  over  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  necessitating  bail- 
ing. The  canoe  was  heavily  loaded  and  set  rather  low 
in  the  water,  cutting  through  the  waves  instead  of 
riding  over  them  as  it  should  have  done.  This  pleasant 
condition  of  things  lasted  for  some  time,  but  about 
two  o'clock  the  sky  cleared,  the  wind  fell,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  take  to  the  paddles  once  more,  for  now 
the  sail  flapped  idly  against  the  mast  and  the  canoe 
began  to  float  back  toward  Nanaimo — the  tide  hav- 
ing turned.  The  sea  became  as  smooth  as  glass,  the 
sun  glared  down  from  the  unclouded  sky  with  sum- 
mery fierceness,  and  after  a  little  while  the  travellers 
realized  that  the  canoe  trip  might  mean  a  lot  of  hard 
work.  More  than  that,  the  canoe  seemed  to  be  anchored 
to  the  bottom,  and,  so  far  as  could  be  judged  from 
occasional  glances  toward  the  distant  shore,  did  not 
move  at  all.  The  work  became  harder  and  harder, 
and  Hugh  and  Jack  at  last  realized  that  here  was  a 
struggle  between  the  paddles  and  the  tide,  with  the 
chances  rather  in  favor  of  the  tide.  This,  of  course, 
meant  that  they  must  work  harder.  Coats  were 
stripped  off,  the  crew  bent  to  their  work,  and  at  last 
found  that  the  craft  did  move,  although  very,  very 
slowly. 


THE    START 


113 


After  a  half  hour's  hard  paddHng  Jack  said  to 
Hugh :  "  I  tell  you,  Hugh,  watching  that  shore  is  like 
watching  the  hands  of  a  watch.  If  you  look  at  the 
shore  you  would  think  that  we  were  perfectly  motion- 
less. It 's  only  when  you  take  some  object  on  the 
beach  and  notice  its  position,  and  then,  five  or  ten 
minutes  later,  look  at  it  again  that  you  find  that  our 
position  has  changed  with  relation  to  it,  and  that  it  is 
farther  behind  than  it  w^as  when  you  last  saw  it." 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  I  've  done  lots  of  canoeing 
in  my  time,  but  I  guess  I  shall  learn  something  on  this 
trip  as  w^ell  as  the  rest  of  you.  We  're  pretty  heavily 
loaded,  and  if  we  have  head  winds  and  tides  much  of 
the  time  we  '11  have  to  put  in  about  all  the  hours  every 
day  working  at  these  paddles.  Besides  that,  we  've 
got  to  figure  on  being  wind-bound  for  a  certain  num- 
ber of  days,  and,  taking  it  all  in  all,  we  can't  hope  to 
go  very  far.  Nevertheless,  we  can  go  far  enough  to 
see  a  good  deal." 

The  progress  of  the  canoe  was  made  more  slow  by 
the  fact  that  its  track  skirted  the  shore,  following  quite 
closely  all  its  windings,  and  hardly  ever  cutting  across 
the  bays,  large  or  small,  that  indented  the  island. 

Jack  asked  Fannin  why  the  Indians  did  not  go  across 
from  one  headland  to  another,  thus  saving  much  pad- 
dling ;  and  Fannin  explained  that  this  w^as  done  partly 
to  avoid  the  force  of  the  tide,  and  partly  from  the 
habitual  caution  of  the  east  coast  Indians.  "  On 
the  waters  of  the  Gulf,"  said  Mr.  Fannin,  "  gales 
often  spring  up  w^ithout  giving  much  warning,  and 
quite  a  heavy  sea  may  follow  the  wind  almost  at  once. 
These  canoes,  especially  when  heavily  loaded,  as  ours 
is,  cannot  stand  much  battering  by  the  waves." 

As  the  sun  sank  low,  after  a  long  spell  of  paddling, 
the  bow  of  the  canoe  was  turned  into  the  mouth  of 
Oualicum  River;  and  a  little  later,  when  close  to  the 
shore,  the  vessel  was  turned  bow  out  and  the  stern 


114        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

pushed  shoreward,  till  it  grated  gently  on  the  pebbly 
beach.  All  hands  at  once  sprang  out,  and  it  was  a 
relief  to  get  on  firm  ground  again  and  to  stretch  the 
limbs,  contracted  by  nearly  twelve  hours  of  sitting  in 
one  position. 

Now  the  rolls  of  blankets  were  tossed  on  the  beach, 
the  provision  box  and  mess  kit  and  other  property 
were  unloaded  and  carried  up  to  the  meadow  above. 
In  a  few  moments  a  fire  had  been  kindled,  and  prep- 
arations for  the  evening  meal  were  begun.  Now, 
Jack  and  Fannin  began  putting  together  their  fishing 
rods;  Hugh  took  his  rifle  and  looked  it  over,  wiping 
off  the  moisture  that  had  accumulated  on  it,  and  got  out 
some  ammunition.  The  party  wanted  fresh  meat  and 
was  going  to  try  hard  to  get  it.  Meantime  the  Indians 
had  taken  out  the  boards  from  the  canoe,  placed  them 
on  the  beach,  and  were  sliding  the  vessel  up,  far  above 
high-water  mark. 

Before  Jack  had  made  many  casts  he  had  a  rise  or 
two,  and  he  was  doing  his  best  tO'  hook  a  fish  when 
Charlie's  shout  of  "  Dinner  "  caused  them  all  to  lay 
aside  their  tools  and  repair  to  the  fire  for  supper.  It 
was  a  simple  meal  of  bacon,  bread,  and  coiTee;  but 
the  work  of  the  day  had  given  all  hearty  appetites  and 
they  enjoyed  it.  Then,  a  little  later.  Jack  went  back 
to  his  fishing,  and  Fannin,  Hugh,  and  Hamset  put 
ofif  in  the  canoe  and  disappeared  behind  a  bend  of  the 
river. 

Being  unable  to  do  anything  with  the  fish,  which 
were  now  jumping  everywhere  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  Jack  worked  along  up  the  stream,  and  around 
the  next  point  was  more  successful.  A  fish  rose  to 
his  flies  and  was  hooked,  and,  after  a  brief  struggle, 
was  dragged  up  on  the  beach.  It  was  a  beautiful 
trout,  only  weighing  half  a  pound,  to  be  sure,  but  none 
the  worse  on  that  account,  if  regarded  simply  from  the 
point  of  view  of  so  much  food.     Encouraged  by  this 


THE    START  115 

success,  Jack  fished  faithfully  and  carefully,  and  be- 
fore long  had  killed  half  a  dozen  others,  all  about  the 
same  size  as  the  first.  Most  of  these  were  taken  in 
more  or  less  shallow  water  near  the  beach,  but  at  length 
he  came  to  a  place  where  an  eddy  of  the  stream  had 
dug  out  a  big  hole  not  far  from  the  edge  of  the  bank, 
and  casting  over  this  two  or  three  times,  he  had  a  rise 
which  almost  made  his  heart  stop  beating.  The  fish 
missed  the  fly,  but  rose  again  to  another  cast,  and  this 
time  was  hooked  on  a  brown  hackle.  And  then  for  a 
little  while  Jack  had  the  time  of  his  life.  The  fish  was 
far  too  strong  for  him  to  handle,  and  for  a  little  time 
kept  him  running  up  and  down  the  beach,  following 
its  powerful  rushes,  taking  in  line  whenever  he  could, 
and  yielding  it  when  he  must.  Once  or  twice  the  rush 
of  the  fish  was  so  prolonged  that  almost  all  the  line 
went  off  the  spool,  and  he  even  ran  into  the  river  up 
to  his  knees  in  the  effort  to  save  some  of  his  line.  At 
last,  however,  the  runs  grew  shorter,  and  the  fish 
yielded  and  swayed  over  on  its  side  and  was  towed  up 
to  the  beach.  But  as  soon  as  it  saw  Jack  it  seemed 
to  regain  all  its  vigor,  and  darted  away  with  a  power- 
ful rush.  This  was  its  last  effort.  Gradually  Jack 
drew  it  into  water  which  was  more  and  more  shallow, 
and  finally  up,  so  that  its  head  rested  on  the  beach. 
Then  seizing  the  leader  he  dragged  it  well  in,  and  in 
a  moment  he  had  it  in  his  hands.  It  was  a  beautiful 
and  very  powerful  fish,  and  must  have  weighed  between 
four  and  five  pounds.  A  little  later  another  fish  was 
taken,  not  quite  so  large,  to  be  sure,  but  big  enough  to 
give  the  angler  a  splendid  fight ;  and  then,  as  the  sun 
had  disappeared  behind  the  forest.  Jack  strung  his 
trout  on  a  willow  twig  and  made  his  way  back  to 
camp.     Charlie  received  him  with  delight. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  you  're  the  kind  of  a  man  I  like 
to  be  out  with  —  somebody  that  can  go  out  and  get 
food  to  eat.     I  bet  them  other  fellows  won't  bring  in 


ii6        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

anything ;  but  we  've  got  enough  here  nearly  for  break- 
fast and  dinner  to-morrow.  I  wish  if  you  have  time 
you  'd  go  out  to-morrow  morning  and  catch  some 
more." 

''  I  'd  hke  to,"  said  Jack.  "  Those  two  big  fellows 
over  there  gave  me  as  much  fun  as  I  ever  had  in  my 
life." 

"  Well,"  said  Charlie,  "  you  '11  have  better  fun  than 
that  to-morrow  morning  when  you  're  eating  that 
fish." 

"  No,"  said  Jack,  "  I  don't  believe  it.  I  think  that 
I  would  rather  have  the  fun  of  catching  those  two  fish 
than  eating  the  best  meal  that  was  ever  cooked." 

From  the  camp  Jack  wandered  away  along  the  beach 
and  over  the  meadows  back  toward  the  forest  that  came 
down  from  the  higher  land.  Here  he  saw  that  this 
must  be  quite  a  camping  place  for  Indians,  and  that 
some  had  been  there  within  a  few  days.  There  were 
the  remains  of  recent  fires,  tent  poles  that  had  been 
cut  only  a  few  days  before;  and  some  little  way  back 
from  the  beach,  and  hardly  to  be  seen  among  the  timber, 
was  an  Indian  house  in  which  Jack  discovered  four 
canoes. 

When  he  returned  to  camp,  Charlie  said :  "  I  heard 
them  fellows  shooting,  but  I  reckon  they  did  n't  get 
nothing;  maybe  a  duck  or  two,  but  nothing  fit  to  eat, 
like  them  fish  you  brought  in." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  I  heard  the  shot,  but  it  was 
from  the  shot-gun,  not  from  a  rifle." 

In  the  meantime  the  party  in  the  canoe  had  pushed 
its  way  quite  a  long  distance  up  the  river.  There  was 
a  possibility  that  a  deer  might  be  seen  along  the  bank, 
or  a  brood  of  ducks  feeding  in  the  shallow  water,  and 
rifles  and  shot-gun  were  ready  to  secure  anything  that 
might  make  its  appearance.  For  a  long  way  the  canoe 
advanced  through  the  dense  forest  without  much  difii- 
culty.     Then  it  came  to  a  series  of  shallow  rapids,  up 


THE    START 


117 


which  so  large  a  craft  could  not  be  taken.  The  canoe 
was  then  drawn  as  near  the  bank  as  possible.  The 
Indian  carried  the  two  white  men  ashore  on  his  shoul- 
ders, and  all  three  followed  up  the  stream  through  the 
now  darkening  woods.  They  found  many  old  tracks 
of  deer,  and  from  time  to  time  passed  the  fresher  slide 
of  an  otter ;  but  no  game  was  seen.  As  the  light  grew 
more  and  more  dim,  they  faced  about,  went  back  to  the 
canoe,  and  turned  its  nose  down  the  stream. 

As  the  vessel  swept  noiselessly  along  the  swift  cur- 
rent, two  or  three  broods  of  ducks  were  surprised  by 
its  sudden  approach  from  behind  the  bend.  On  the 
upward  journey  the  birds,  w^arned  by  the  noise  of  the 
paddles,  had  seen  the  craft  before  it  was  near  them, 
and  had  crept  ashore  and  hidden  themselves  in  the 
grass.  But  now^  there  was  not  time  for  this.  A  flock 
of  mallards,  startled  from  the  water,  sprang  away  in 
flight,  and  two  of  them  were  stopped  by  Fannin,  and 
fell  back  into  the  stream,  to  be  picked  up  by  Hamset  as 
the  canoe  swept  by. 

It  was  only  gray  light  next  morning  when  all  hands 
were  astir.  While  the  breakfast  was  being  cooked 
bundles  of  bedding  were  rolled  up  and  transported  to 
the  shore;  and  as  soon  as  breakfast  was  over  and  the 
dishes  washed,  the  canoe  was  pushed  off  and  loaded ; 
the  paddlers  took  their  places,  and  they  set  out  again 
at  just  six  o'clock  by  Mr.  Fannin's  watch. 

The  day  was  bright  and  pleasant,  with  light  airs 
from  half  a  dozen  quarters,  but  no  breeze  strong 
enough  to  justify  the  setting  of  the  sail. 

Just  after  they  had  pushed  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  Jack  called  Fannin's  attention  to  a  flock  of  birds 
sitting  on  the  water ;  and  they  were  presently  made 
out  to  be  scoter  ducks,  of  two  kinds.  There  was  an 
enormous  multitude  of  them,  and  almost  all  seemed  to 
be  males.  When  too  closely  approached,  fifty  or  five 
hundred  of  them  would  rise  on  the  wing,  swing  out 


Ii8        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

over  their  fellows,  and  then  alight  on  the  outside  of  the 
flock. 

"  Where  in  the  world  do  all  those  birds  come  from, 
Mr.  Fannin?  "  asked  Jack.  "  These  are  the  birds  that 
we  call  coots  down  on  the  Atlantic  coast;  but  I  don't 
think  at  any  one  time  I  ever  saw  so  many  of  them 
as  we  see  this  morning." 

"  I  don't  know  just  what  they  're  doing  here,"  said 
Fannin.  "  But,  as  nearly  as  I  can  see  with  my  glasses, 
they  seem  to  be  all  males ;  and  I  should  n't  be  a  bit 
surprised  if  the  females  were  all  ashore,  at  little  springs 
or  lakes,  raising  their  broods.  Pretty  soon  these  birds 
will  begin  to  moult,  and  then  the  Indians  will  try  to 
get  around  them  and  drive  them  ashore  and  kill  them. 
But  this  is  a  method  that  seldom  succeeds  with  these 
birds.  If  they  see  that  they  are  going  to  be  forced  on 
the  shore  they  will  dive  and  swim  back  under  the 
boat." 

"  That 's  pretty  smart,"  said  Jack.  "  I  have  heard  of 
the  loons  doing  something  like  that,  but  I  did  n't  sup- 
pose a  coot  had  sense  enough  for  that." 

''  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  that 's  what  they  're  said  to 
do." 

As  they  paddled  along  the  head  of  a  seal  appeared 
above  the  water,  close  to  them,  and  after  watching 
them  for  a  moment  or  two  sank  back  out  of  sight. 

"  Son,  why  don't  you  try  one  of  those  fellows  with 
your  rifle,"  suggested  Hugh.  ''  It  looks  as  if  there 
w'ere  time  enough  to  draw  a  bead  on  one  and  kill  it. 
I  hear  these  Indians  eat  that  sort  of  meat;  and  I  sup- 
pose what  they  can  do  we  can  too,  if  we  get  a  chance." 

Jack  pulled  his  gun  out  of  its  case,  put  a  couple  of 
cartridges  in  his  vest  pocket,  and  declared  he  would 
try  the  seals  the  next  time  one  gave  him  a  chance. 
He  did  so,  but  the  animals  kept  their  heads  above  water 
so  short  a  time  that  he  was  unable  to  get  a  satisfactory 
sight  on  one,  and  did  not  fire. 


THE    START  119 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  these  fellows  are  pretty  watch- 
ful and  pretty  quick ;  and  as  you  don't  know  when 
they  're  coming  up,  it 's  a  pretty  hard  matter  to  shoot 
at  them." 

''  So  it  is,"  said  Fannin,  ''  and  yet  I  think  if  one  had 
practice  enough  they  would  be  easy  to  kill.  Certainly 
the  Indians  here,  and  still  more  to  the  north,  get  a 
great  many  of  them,  shooting  them  and  then  paddling 
quickly  up  and  putting  a  spear  in  them  before  they 
sink.  These  little  seals  that  we  see  are,  of  course, 
nothing  but  the  common  harbor  seal;  but  when  the 
big  fur-seal  herds  pass  up  the  coast  the  Indians  get 
a  good  many  of  them  in  that  way,  though  many  are 
killed  by  paddling  up  close  to  them  w'hen  they  are 
asleep  on  the  water  and  spearing  them.  A  long  line 
is  attached  to  the  lance,  the  head  of  w^hich  is  barbed, 
so  that  it  will  not  draw  out;  and  at  length  they  pull 
the  seal  up  close  to  the  canoe  and  kill  it,  either  with 
a  club  or  by  spearing  it  again.  Seal  meat  and  seal  oil 
are  pretty  important  parts  of  the  native  food  supply 
on  this  coast;  but  more  so  to  the  north  than  down 
here,  where  the  food  is  more  varied." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  w^e  've  surely  got  to  get  some 
fresh  meat  of  one  kind  or  other,  on  this  trip;  if  we 
don't,  our  grub  will  give  out,  and  we  '11  have  to  travel 
back  to  the  settlement  hungry.  There  seems  to  be  a 
w^orld  of  food  lying  around,  —  deer,  and  fish,  and  seals, 
and  all  that.  You  see,  Fannin,  Jack  and  I  are  prairie 
men,  and  don't  know  how  to  earn  a  living  on  this 
water.  If  we  were  travelling  back  on  the  plains,  or  in 
the  mountains,  we  'd  think  it  mighty  queer  if  we 
could  n't  keep  the  camp  in  meat ;  but  here  we  don't 
know  how  to  go  to  work  to  do  it.  Don't  either  of  these 
Indians  understand  how  to  catch  these  fish  or  to  kill 
these  animals?  " 

"  I  expect  the  Indians  do,"  said  Fannin,  "  but  I 
don't,  for  I  never  have  had  occasion  to  live  in  the  coun- 


I20        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

try  along  the  shore  here.  I  'm  something  Hke  you,  a 
mountain  hunter.  But  we  ought  to  be  able  to  catch 
some  salmon,  and  to  do  it  right  here.  You  know  that 
in  a  few  days  or  weeks  now  all  the  rivers  along  the 
coast  will  be  full  of  salmon,  running  up  toward  the 
heads  of  the  stream  to  spawn.  At  the  present  time  they 
are  gathering  in  the  salt  water,  each  fish  pushing 
toward  the  mouth  of  the  river,  in  which  it  was  hatched, 
and  down  which  it  made  its  way  toward  the  sea.  They 
say  that  all  salmon  go  back  to  the  streams  in  which 
they  were  bred  to  spawn.  Now,  when  they  are  in  salt 
water,  and  before  they  reach  the  mouths  of  the  rivers, 
the  salmon  will  bite,  and  a  great  many  of  them  are 
caught  by  trolling,  either  with  bait  or  with  a  spoon. 
Have  n't  you  some  fishing  tackle  there  that  you  could 
throw  overboard  now,  and  let  the  bait  follow  the  canoe  ? 
If  we  could  get  a  few  fish  it  would  help  out  mightily 
with  our  eating." 

''Why,  yes,"  said  Jack;  "of  course  there's  some 
fishing  tackle.    Let 's  get  it  out  and  try  them." 

Hugh  bent  down;  and  after  fumbling  in  the  pro- 
vision box  for  a  few  moments,  brought  out  a  package 
which  he  passed  over  to  Fannin,  saying  to  him :  "  You 
know  more  about  these  things  than  either  of  us,  and 
you  'd  better  pick  out  the  lines  and  baits  that  are  to  be 
used." 

The  long,  strong  line,  with  a  lure  of  metal  and 
feathers  attached  to  it,  was  soon  overboard,  and  drag- 
ging in  the  long  sinuous  wake  that  stretched  out  behind 
the  canoe.  Jack  held  it  in  one  hand  as  he  wielded  the 
paddle.  All  the  power  that  they  had  was  needed  to 
push  the  boat  along;  and  if  one  man  should  sit  and  fish 
in  idleness  it  would  not  have  been  fair  to  the  others. 

Jack  sat  hopefully,  expecting  each  moment  to  feel 
a  tug  on  the  line,  but  none  came.  "  Tell  me,  Mr.  Fan- 
nin," he  asked,  "  don't  salmon  bite  after  they  get  into 
the  fresh  water?     You  said  that  when  in  salt  water 


THE    START  121 

they  were  caught  in  numbers.     Does  that  mean  that 
they  do  not  take  the  bait  in  fresh  water?  " 

"  Yes,"  repHed  Fannin,  ''  that 's  just  w^hat  it  means. 
When  they  get  into  the  fresh  water  they  seem  to  lose 
all  interest  in  the  food  question,  and  will  not  take  the 
bait  or  rise  to  a  fly.  Some  friends  of  mine,  who  are 
great  fishermen,  have  tried  bait,  —  spoons,  flies,  and 
grasshoppers,  —  but  no  attention  was  paid  to  any  of 
these  things.  There  's  a  story,  you  know,  about  some 
British  commissioner,  sent  out  years  ago,  when  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States  were  quarrelling  over  the 
question  of  who  owned  Oregon  and  Washington,  and 
they  say  that  this  commissioner  was  a  great  salmon 
angler.  They  say  that  he  was  here  during  the  salmon 
run,  and  fished  the  streams  faithfully  for  them,  with- 
out even  getting  a  rise,  though  he  could  see  millions 
of  them.  The  story  goes  that  he  was  so  disgusted  with 
the  way  the  salmon  acted  that  he  went  back  to  England 
and  reported  that  the  great  territory  in  dispute  was 
not  worth  quarrelling  about,  and  not  w^orth  holding 
by  Great  Britain,  because  the  salmon  in  the  stream 
would  not  rise  to  a  fly." 

"  That 's  sure  comical,"  said  Hugh ;  "  but  after  all 
there  's  a  good  deal  of  human  nature  in  it.  We  're  all 
likely  to  look  at  things  from  our  little  narrow  point  of 
view  and  to  think  only  of  matters  as  they  interest  us." 

Before  very  long  Jack  found  the  holding  of  the  trol- 
ling line  something  of  a  nuisance,  and  at  Fanning's 
suggestion  passed  it  over  to  Jimmie,  the  steersman, 
who  tied  it  about  one  of  his  arms  and  kept  up  the  w^ork 
of  paddling.  That  there  was  salmon  about  now  was 
very  evident,  for  great  silvery  fish  were  frequently  seen 
jumping  out  of  the  water,  or  floundering  about  on  the 
surface,  throwing  shining  drops  about  them  in  showers. 

"  Why  do  these  fish  jump  in  that  way,  Mr.  Fannin  ?  " 
asked  Jack.  "  It 's  common  enough  to  see  fish  jump 
out  of  the  water  and  then  fall  back,  but  these,  when 


122        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

they  strike  the  water,  act  ahnost  like  a  fish  thrown  on 
the  shore,  and  flopping  there." 

''  The  Indians  say,"  repHed  Fannin,  "  and  I  guess 
very  Hkely  it 's  true,  that  this  flopping  around  by  the 
sahiion  is  done  for  the  purpose  of  ridding  themselves 
of  certain  parasites  that  are  attached  to  their  bodies. 
I  've  often  seen  these  parasites.  They  are  flat,  oval 
crustaceans,  and  a  good  deal  like  the  common  sow  bugs 
—  those  little  flattish,  purple,  many-legged  bugs  that 
we  find  under  the  bark  of  dead  trees  or  sometimes 
under  stones,  back  in  the  East.  Almost  all  salmon 
caught  in  salt  water  have  some  of  these  things  stuck 
to  them,  sometimes  only  one  and  sometimes  a  dozen. 
They  will  be  found  chiefly  about  the  fins,  and  especially 
on  those  of  the  back.  They  cling  closely  to  the  skin, 
and  some  force  is  needed  to  dislodge  them;  but  as 
soon  as  the  fish  get  in  the  fresh  water  they  die  and 
drop  off." 

They  were  paddling  along,  not  very  far  from  a  kelp 
bed,  which  lay  north  and  south,  along  the  channel  that 
they  were  following  for  a  mile  or  more,  when  suddenly 
Jimmie  dropped  his  paddle  and  began  to  haul  in  on 
his  line.  A  moment's  work,  however,  showed  that  he 
had  no  fish  on  it,  and  he  let  it  go  again.  But  Fannin 
told  him  to  draw  in  the  line  and  see  that  the  spoon  was 
all  right ;  for  it  occurred  to  him  that  the  current  might 
have  carried  the  spoon  in  among  the  leaves  of  the  kelp 
bed,  that  it  might  have  caught  in  one  of  them,  and  been 
torn  off.  When  the  end  of  the  line  was  recovered  it 
appeared  that  this  was  just  what  had  happened;  and 
Fannin,  grumbling  at  the  Indian's  carelessness,  put  on 
another  spoon  and  threw  the  line  overboard,  but  this 
time  kept  it  in  his  own  hand.  It  had  hardly  straight- 
ened out,  when  there  was  a  violent  tug  on  it,  and 
Fannin  dropped  his  paddle  and  began  to  haul  in  the 
line  rapidly,  hand  over  hand.  Every  one  in  the  boat 
was  more  or  less  excited  at  the  capture,  and  they  all 


THE    START  123 

stopped  paddling.  The  great  fish  was  drawn  nearer 
and  nearer;  sometimes  out  of  sight,  and  sometimes 
struggHng  on  the  surface  of  the  water  and  making  a 
great  splashing.  It  was  not  very  long  before  it  w^as 
close  to  the  side.  All  the  paddles  were  taken  in;  and 
Fannin,  being  very  careful  to  keep  the  fish  away  from 
the  side  of  the  canoe,  let  his  right  hand  down  close  to 
the  line,  and  grasped  the  fish  close  behind  the  gills,  and 
lifted  it  into  the  canoe.  Jack,  Hugh,  and  Charlie 
cheered  vigorously,  and  the  Indians  grinned  with 
delight. 

It  was  a  fine  silvery  fish,  of  ten  pounds  weight,  fat 
and  firm,  promising  delicious  food.  The  fish  was 
passed  aft  for  the  inspection  of  Hugh  and  Jack;  and 
Fannin  called  their  especial  attention  to  the  presence 
on  its  back  of  three  of  the  parasites  of  which  they  had 
been  talking  only  a  few  moments  ago.  Then,  after 
they  had  all  admired  the  fish,  it  was  laid  aside  in  a 
shady  place  and  the  canoe  went  on. 


CHAPTER    XI 

FOOD    FROM    THE   SEA 

The  voyagers  worked  on  steadily  through  the  day, 
and  three  or  four  hours  before  sundown  they  landed 
at  Comox  Spit,  two  or  three  miles  from  the  village  of 
Comox.  All  through  the  day  numbers  of  hair-seals 
had  been  seen  diligently  fishing  in  the  shoal  waters, 
and  often  an  old  one  was  accompanied  by  her  tiny 
young.  There  were  hosts  of  water-fowl  about  the 
shore,  —  ducks  of  several  kinds,  seagulls,  guillemots, 
and  auks;  while  along  the  beach  ran  oyster  catchers, 
turnstones,  and  many  other  shore  birds.  All  these 
were  picking  a  fat  living  there  from  the  water  or  from 
the  gravelly  beach  at  the  water's  edge.  The  larger 
fowl  fed  on  fish  and  mollusks  on  the  bottom ;  the  lesser 
ones  on  the  small  crustaceans,  which  are  abundant 
among  the  vegetable  life  near  the  beach.  At  the  end 
of  the  day  the  canoe  passed  through  a  great  multitude 
of  ducks,  which  seemed  to  contain  many  thousands  of 
birds.  Near  these  were  hundreds  of  great  seagulls, 
sitting  on  the  sand  spits  which  project  from  the  islands 
far  out  into  the  water.  As  the  canoe  moved  toward 
these  great  flocks  of  ducks,  the  noise  of  their  rising, 
the  whistling  rush  of  their  wings  and  the  pattering  of 
their  feet  upon  the  water  made  such  a  tumult  as  almost 
to  drown  ordinary  conversation. 

It  was  low  water  when  they  landed,  and  the  boat's 
cargo  had  to  be  carried  a  long  distance  up  to  the 
meadow  above  the  beach.  After  this  had  been  done, 
the  fire  kindled  and  the  tent  put  up,  Charlie  called  to 
them :   "  Why  don't  you  men  try  that  mud  flat   for 


FOOD    FRO^I    THE    SEA  125 

clams?  You  have  a  salmon  to  do  to-night,  but  that 
won't  last  very  long,  and  you  had  better  try  to  get 
some  more  fresh  meat." 

Arming  themselves  with  sharpened  sticks,  they  scat- 
tered out  over  the  mud  flat,  looking  carefully  for  signs 
of  clams,  and  before  long  were  hard  at  work  gathering 
them.  Jack  had  dug  clams  in  the  East  before,  but  this 
was  new  business  for  Hugh;  and  it  was  fun  for  Jack 
to  tell  him  how  to  look  for  the  clams  and  how  to  un- 
earth them  when  found.  It  took  them  but  a  short  time 
to  gather  over  half  a  bushel  of  the  bivalves,  which 
were  taken  up  to  the  camp  and  washed  off  and  cov- 
ered up. 

Their  dinner  of  salmon  was  greatly  enjoyed.  After 
dinner  Jack  and  Fannin,  seeing  some  fish  jumping  out 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  pushed  off  in  the  canoe  and 
spent  some  time  casting  for  them.  But  although  they 
tried  almost  all  their  most  attractive  flies,  they  did  not 
get  a  single  rise,  though  the  fish  kept  jumping  all 
around  them.  While  still  occupied  at  this,  the  sun 
went  dow^n  and  before  long  the  Indians  began  to  make 
an  extraordinary  disturbance  about  the  camp  fire  — 
shouting,  rushing  about,  stooping  down,  and  then 
throwing  up  their  hands.  When  the  two  anglers 
reached  the  shore  and  inquired  what  had  caused  all  the 
excitement,  Hugh  picked  up  by  the  wing  and  held  aloft 
a  tiny  mottled  owl.  The  little  bird  had  been  hunting 
about  over  the  flat,  and,  attracted  by  the  light  of  the 
fire,  had  flown  about  it  several  times ;  and  the  Indians, 
excited  by  its  near  approach,  had  begun  to  throw 
stones  at  it.  A  well-aimed  shot  by  Jimmie  had  brought 
down  the  bird,  which  Charlie  suggested  would  do  for 
the  next  day's  dinner. 

"  We  have  n't  got  down  quite  to  eating  owls,"  said 
Jack,  with  a  laugh. 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  ''  I  've  eaten  owl  a  number  of 
times,  and  it 's  not  at  all  bad  eating,  though,  of  course, 


126        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

it  depends  a  little  bit  on  how  hungry  you  are.  I  guess 
most  everything  that  runs  or  flies  is  pretty  good  to  eat, 
if  one  only  has  appetite  enough.  I  have  tried  a  whole 
lot  of  things,  and  I  put  owl  down  among  the  things  that 
are  real  good." 

"  How  did  you  come  to  eat  owl,  Hugh  ? "  asked 
Jack.    "  And  when  was  it?  " 

**  It 's  a  good  many  years  ago,"  said  Hugh,  "  that  I 
started,  late  in  December,  south  from  the  Platte  River 
with  Lute  North,  expecting  to  load  up  a  wagon  with 
buffalo  meat  at  once.  We  did  n't  take  much  grub  with 
us  as  we  meant  to  be  gone  only  for  a  few  days;  and 
as  buffalo  had  been  plenty  in  the  country  to  which  we 
were  going,  we  thought  we  could  soon  load  the  wagon. 

"  We  travelled  three  days  without  seeing  a  head  of 
game,  and  then  crossed  the  Republican  River  and  kept 
on  south.  In  the  river  bottom  we  killed  a  turkey,  but 
all  the  four-footed  game  seemed  to  have  left  the 
country.  After  going  south  two  days  longer  and 
finding  no  game,  not  even  an  old  bull,  we  turned  back, 
for  provisions  were  getting  low.  We  crossed  the 
Republican  again,  but  got  stuck  in  the  quicksands; 
and  the  wagon  sunk  so  low  that  the  water  came  into 
the  wagon  box  and  wet  our  things,  without  doing 
much  harm,  however,  for  the  sugar  was  the  only  thing 
that  was  spoiled.  The  flour  got  wet,  and  left  us  only 
about  enough  for  two  or  three  more  loaves  of  bread. 
But  we  had  a  little  piece  of  bacon  left,  so  we  had 
enough  to  carry  us  through.  It  took  some  hours  to 
get  the  wagon  out;  and  that  afternoon,  after  leaving 
the  river,  we  saw  three  old  bulls  feeding  on  the  side  of 
a  ridge.  At  first  Lute  and  I  both  intended  to  go  after 
■them ;  but  as  there  w^as  a  better  chance  of  approaching 
them  if  only  one  man  went,  and  as  Lute  was  a  fine  shot, 
I  told  him  to  go  ahead,  and  I  waited  in  the  wagon. 
He  took  a  circuit  and  got  around  the  bulls  so  that  the 
wind  was  right,  then  crept  up  behind  a  ridge  until  he 


FOOD    FROM    THE    SEA  127 

was  within  a  hundred  yards,  and  fired  —  and  the  bulls 
ran  off  over  the  hills.  When  Lute  came  back,  and  I 
asked  him  how  he  came  to  miss  them,  he  could  give  no 
explanation.  '  I  had  as  good  a  bead  on  that  bull  as  I 
ever  had  on  anything,  and  yet  I  missed  him  clean/  he 
said;  '  shot  clear  over  him.' 

*'  We  camped  that  night  in  a  wide  and  deep  ravine, 
and  in  the  morning  when  we  got  up  we  found  that  we 
were  covered  with  snow,  which  was  two  or  three  feet 
deep,  and  which  still  kept  falling.  This  was  certainly 
a  bad  state  of  things.  We  lay  in  camp  all  day,  only 
leaving  it  to  tie  the  horses  up  to  some  brush  where 
they  could  get  something  to  eat.  It  stopped  snowing 
that  night,  and  the  next  morning  we  started  out  to  try 
to  kill  something,  but  had  no  luck.  The  snow  was  so 
deep  in  the  ravine  that  we  could  not  travel  there,  but 
on  the  divide  the  wind  had  blown  it  all  off.  Lute  saw 
a  wolf,  but  could  not  get  a  shot  at  it.  I  had  seen 
nothing.  We  spent  the  rest  of  the  evening  trying  to 
break  a  road  out  to  the  divide,  and  at  night  we  made 
our  last  loaf  of  bread  and  ate  half  of  it.  It  took  us 
all  the  next  day  to  get  out  to  where  the  horses  could 
travel,  but  we  made  some  little  distance,  stopping  at 
night  and  melting  some  snow  for  the  horses,  and  for 
a  cup  of  coffee  apiece.  Next  morning,  as  we  were 
hitching  up,  I  saw  a  white  owl  hunting  along  the  edge 
of  the  ravine.  The  bird  alighted  about  half  a  mile 
away,  and  I  took  my  rifle  and  went  out  to  try  to  kill 
it.  I  got  to  within  seventy-five  yards  of  it,  and  then  it 
saw  me ;  so  I  fired,  and  it  did  not  fly  away.  When  I 
got  hold  of  it  I  found  that  I  had  shot  high,  and  that 
my  ball  had  just  cut  the  top  of  its  head.  Half  an  inch 
higher,  and  I  would  have  missed.  We  ate  half  the  owl 
that  morning,  and  the  rest  that  night.  The  next  night 
we  crossed  the  Platte.  When  within  four  or  five  miles 
of  town,  just  when  we  did  n't  need  it,  we  killed  a 
white-tail  deer." 


128        JACK   THE    YOUNG    CANOEMAN 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  ''  you  must  have  been  pretty 
hungry  when  you  got  it." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  but  it  is  n't  very  hard  to  go 
without  eating.  A  man  feels  pretty  wolfish  for  the 
first  twenty-four  hours,  but  then  he  does  n't  get  any 
hungrier.  After  that  he  begins  to  get  weak ;  not  very 
fast,  of  course,  but  he  can't  do  as  much  as  he  can  when 
he  's  well  fed.  He  can't  walk  as  far  or  climb  as  hard. 
To  go  without  water,  though,  is  a  very  different  thing. 
If  a  man  can't  drink,  he  suffers  a  great  deal,  and  keeps 
getting  worse  all  the  time." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  ''  in  this  country  no  man  need 
suffer  for  want  of  water.  These  mountains  are  cov- 
ered with  it;  it  is  running  down  them  everywhere. 
There  is  usually  food  too,  though  sometimes  fish  and 
game,  and  seaweed  and  fern  roots  fail,  and  then  the 
Indians  get  hungry.  One  thing  the  Indians  eat,  which 
I  never  saw  eaten  anywhere  before,  and  that  is  the 
octopus  or  devil  fish,  as  they  're  sometimes  called.  It 
is  n't  bad  eating,  and  the  Indians  think  a  great  deal  of 
it.  They  cut  off  the  arms  and  boil  them,  and  then  when 
the  skin  is  peeled  off,  they  are  perfectly  white,  looking 
almost  like  stalks  of  celery.  The  meat  is  tender  and 
quite  good,  though  to  tell  the  truth,  it  has  n't  got  much 
flavor  to  it." 

"  You  speak  of  fern  roots,  Mr.  Fannin,"  said  Jack, 
"  I  did  n't  know  that  they  were  ever  eaten." 

''  Yes,"  replied  Fannin.  "  They  're  gathered  and 
roasted  in  time  of  scarcity,  and  will  support  life  for  a 
time.  The  Indians  here  have  quite  a  variety  in  the  way 
of  vegetable  food  in  dulse,  seaweed,  and  berries.  They 
dry  the  berries  of  different  kinds,  making  them  into 
cakes  when  they  're  nearly  dry,  and  using  them  as  a 
sort  of  bread  in  winter.  There  's  what  is  called  the 
soap-berry,  which  they  use  as  a  sort  of  flavoring.  The 
berries  are  dried  and  pressed  into  cakes.  When  they 
want  to   use  it,   a  portion  of  a  cake  is  broken  off, 


FOOD    FROM    THE    SEA  129 

crumbled  into  fine  pieces  and  put  into  a  bucket  with  a 
little  water.  Then  a  woman  with  bare  arm  begins  to 
stir  the  mixture  with  her  hand,  and  soon  it  becomes 
frothy.  The  more  she  stirs  it,  the  more  it  foams  up; 
and  as  the  volume  increases,  more  water  is  added, 
until  at  last  the  vessel  which  contains  it,  and  which  may 
hold  several  gallons,  is  full  of  this  foam.  Then  the 
Indians  sit  about  it,  and  scraping  up  the  foam  on  their 
fingers,  draw  them  between  their  lips.  The  taste  of 
the  foam  is  sharply  bitter,  something  like  the  inner 
bark  of  the  red  willow.  I  've  always  supposed  that 
these  berries  possessed  some  tonic  quality  like  quinine. 
There  are  two  or  three  kinds  of  seaweed  that  the 
Indians  eat.  One  they  boil,  and  it  makes  a  dish 
a  great  deal  like  what  we  call  '  greens.'  The  other 
is  dried,  pressed  into  cakes,  and  used  later  in  soups. 
This  seaweed  seems  to  be  full  of  gelatine  and  thickens 
the  soup.  It  is  still  the  custom  in  the  villages  which 
are  far  from  the  settlements,  for  young  women  to  chew 
this  seawxed  fine  before  cooking  it.  It 's  necessary  to 
make  it  small  before  the  boiling  will  soften  it.  The 
Indians  who  live  near  the  settlement,  however,  chop 
up  the  vegetable  with  a  knife,  a  pair  of  scissors,  or  a 
tobacco  cutter." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  1  guess  we  '11  want  to  avoid 
any  soup  if  we  stop  at  any  Indian  villages." 

''  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  it  might  be  a  good  idea  to 
be  on  the  lookout,  but  they  use  this  seaweed  chiefly 
in  the  winter,  so  I  don't  think  we  need  to  be  alarmed." 

Camp  was  broken  early  next  morning,  and  a  start 
made  soon  after  daylight.  There  was  a  long  day  of 
paddling.  Camp  was  made  shortly  before  sundown, 
and  soon  after  supper  was  eaten  all  hands  went  to  bed. 

Of  course,  efforts  were  made  to  procure  fresh  meat, 
but  no  more  salmon  were  caught,  nor  any  deer  seen, 
though  each  day  Fannin  was  lucky  enough  to  kill  a 
few  ducks  with  a  shot-gun. 

9 


130        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

Each  night  as  the  time  for  camping  approached,  Mr. 
Fannin  and  the  Indians  would  be  on  the  watch  for  a 
good  landing-place.  This  had  to  be  carefully  chosen 
on  account  of  the  danger  of  scratching  the  bottom  of 
the  boat  or  striking  it  sharply  on  some  rock  or  pebble, 
which  might  result  in  accident  and  cause  several  days' 
detention,  or  possibly  even  a  serious  calamity. 

When  a  landing  was  made,  it  was  the  first  duty  of 
the  party  to  unload  the  canoe,  and  then  to  drag  it  up 
on  the  beach,  safe  above  reach  of  the  waves.  As  has 
been  stated,  the  prow  of  the  canoe  was  turned  away 
from  the  shore,  and  she  was  backed  toward  some  place 
where  the  sand  was  smooth  and  free  from  stones,  or 
else  where  the  pebbles  were  smoothly  spread  out, 
and  as  nearly  as  possible  of  the  same  size.  The  ap- 
proach to  the  shore  was  slow  and  made  carefully,  and 
the  paddles  of  those  in  the  stern  were  thrust,  handles 
down,  against  the  beach,  to  ease  the  shock  of  her 
touching.  Then  the  steersman  leaped  overboard,  and 
lifted  and  drew  the  canoe  as  far  up  the  beach  as  he 
could.  The  others  disembarked  and  helped  to  lift  her 
still  farther  on  to  the  beach.  Then  her  load  was  taken 
out,  and  carried  up  above  high-water  mark.  After  the 
whole  load  had  been  transported  to  the  spot  selected 
for  the  camp,  every  one,  except  the  cook,  who  at  once 
busied  himself  with  preparations  for  the  meal,  returned 
to  the  water's  edge.  The  loose  boards  in  the  bottom 
of  the  canoe  —  put  there  to  protect  the  bottom  from 
the  careless  dropping  of  some  heavy  article,  or  from 
a  too  heavy  footfall  —  were  taken  out  and  placed  on 
the  beach,  so  as  to  form  a  smooth  roadway  for  the 
canoe  to  slide  on,  and  she  was  then  dragged  well  up 
above  high-water  mark.  The  Indians  went  into  the 
forest  to  cut  poles  and  pins  for  the  tent,  which  was  soon 
set  up,  and  the  beds  made.  Before  dinner  was  ready,  the 
camp  was  in  complete  order.  Sometimes  it  happened 
that  no  satisfactory  landing-place  could  be  made,  and 


FOOD    FROM    THE    SEA  131 

then  it  was  impossible  to  get  the  canoe  out  of  the  water 
on  the  rocks  or  the  narrow  beach  where  they  were 
obhged  to  camp.  In  such  cases  the  Indians,  after  they 
had  eaten,  would  re-embark,  take  the  canoe  out  some 
distance  from  the  shore  and  anchor  it  there,  and  spend 
the  night  in  the  vessel.  Next  morning  all  the  opera- 
tions of  unloading  the  canoe  were  reversed.  While 
breakfast  was  being  cooked  the  blankets  were  rolled 
up,  the  tent  torn  down,  and  everything  but  the  mess 
kit  and  the  provision  boxes  carried  down  to  the  canoe. 
After  breakfast,  and  while  the  dishes  were  being 
washed,  the  canoe  was  loaded,  the  last  thing  put  aboard 
being  the  mess  kit  and  the  provision  boxes. 

About  noon  the  next  day,  upon  rounding  a  point  of 
land,  some  low  houses  were  seen  in  a  little  bay,  and 
Fannin,  after  speaking  to  the  Indians,  said  to  the 
others :  "  Here  's  the  village  of  the  Cape  Mudge  In- 
dians. Had  we  not  better  stop  here  and  see  if  we  can't 
buy  some  dried  salmon?  We  have  got  to  have  some 
provisions,  unless  you  hunters  can  do  better." 

When  they  paddled  up  to  the  village  they  found  that 
it  consisted  of  large  houses  made  of  ''  shakes."  some- 
what like  the  Indian  village  that  they  had  seen  near 
Nanaimo.  In  front  of  several  of  the  houses  stood 
poles,  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  high  and  curiously 
carved.  One  such  pole,  not  yet  erected,  and  in  process 
of  being  carved,  bore  on  one  end  the  head  of  a  large 
bird,  which  by  some  stretch  of  imagination  might  be 
taken  for  that  of  an  eagle.  The  Indians  seen  here, 
though  little  resembling  the  Indians  Jack  and  Hugh 
were  familiar  with  on  the  plains,  were  at  least  clad 
like  Indians,  that  is  to  say,  in  breech-clout  and  blanket. 
Physically  they  bore  little  resemblance  to  the  more 
symmetrical  horse  Indians  of  the  plains,  for,  though 
their  bodies  seemed  large  and  well  developed,  their 
legs  were  small  and  shrunken. 

The  party's  stay  here  was  short,  but  they  succeeded 


132        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

in  purchasing  a  few  salmon  and  then  pushed  off  again. 
Just  outside  of  the  village  was  a  burial  place  of  con- 
siderable size,  in  which  were  many  small  houses.  The 
bodies  of  the  dead  were  deposited  in  the  small  board 
houses,  though  those  of  poorer  people  were  said  to  be 
placed  in  old  canoes,  which  were  then  covered  with 
boards.  In  front  or  at  the  side  of  each  house  stood  a 
number  of  small  poles,  ten  or  twelve  feet  high,  which 
indicated  the  number  of  potlatches  or  great  feasts  that 
the  dead  man  had  given,  each  pole  standing  for  a  pot- 
latch.  Fastened  to  stouter  and  larger  poles  were  small 
profiles  of  canoes  carved  out  of  thin  boards,  which 
showed  how  many  canoes  the  dead  man  had  given 
away  during  his  life.  Over  some  of  the  houses  stood 
large  crosses,  eight  or  ten  feet  high  and  covered  with 
white  cloth. 

"  You  see,"  said  Fannin,  "  a  good  many  Indians 
along  the  coast  here  are  supposed  to  be  Christians, 
though  it  is  pretty  hard  to  tell  just  how  much  the 
Indians  understand  of  what  the  missionaries  tell  them, 
and  just  how  far  their  lives  are  influenced  by  their 
teachings.  No  matter  how  good  Christians  these 
Indians  who  are  buried  here  may  have  been,  every  one 
of  them  has  been  fitted  out  by  his  relations  with  a 
canoe  for  use  in  the  land  of  the  future,  for  they  can 
conceive  of  no  country  where  there  is  no  water,  nor  of 
any  means  of  getting  about  except  in  a  canoe." 

That  night  after  dinner  as  they  were  seated  about 
the  fire,  Hugh  and  Fannin  pulling  at  their  pipes, 
Charlie  smoking  a  cigarette,  and  the  Indians  —  who 
that  night  slept  aboard  the  canoe  —  singing  one  of 
their  plaintive  songs,  Jack  asked  Mr.  Fannin  to  ex- 
plain the  meaning  of  the  word  '*  potlatch,"  which  he 
had  used  earlier  during  the  day. 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  potlatch  is  a  word  of  the 
Chinook  jargon,  and  means  to  give,  or  a  gift,  accord- 
ing to  the  connection  in  which  it  is  used.     As  we  Ve 


FOOD    FROM    THE    SEA  133 

been  paddling  along  you  've  heard  the  Indians  say, 
*  Potlatch  tsook/  which  means  '  give  water.'  In  other 
words,  they  want  a  drink.  The  great  ambition  of 
every  Indian  in  this  country  is  to  get  property  in 
such  quantity  that  he  can  give  a  big  feast,  call  all  the 
people  together,  sometimes  one  village,  sometimes  all 
the  villages  of  the  tribe,  and  then  hand  around  pres- 
ents to  everybody.  It  is  in  this  way,  according  to 
their  estimation,  that  they  become  chiefs  or  men  of 
importance.  Wealth,  in  fact,  seems  to  constitute  a 
standard  of  rank  among  them,  and  the  man  who  gives 
away  the  most  is  the  biggest  chief.  Later,  he  receives 
the  reward  of  his  generosity,  for  at  subsequent  pot- 
latches,  given  by  other  people,  he  receives  a  gift  propor- 
tionate to  the  amount  of  his  own  potlatch.  When, 
therefore,  an  Indian  has  accumulated  money  enough,  he 
is  likely  to  buy  a  great  lot  of  food,  crackers,  tea,  sugar, 
molasses,  and  flour,  as  well  as  calico  and  blankets. 
Then  he  proceeds  to  invite  all  his  friends,  up  and  down 
the  coast,  to  a  potlatch.  The  feast  consists  mainly  of 
boiled  deer  meat  and  salmon  and  oolichan  oil,  with 
the  other  food  I  have  just  mentioned.  Every  guest 
has  all  the  crackers  he  can  eat.  Perhaps  there  is  a 
small  canoe  full  of  molasses.  Each  guest  receives  so 
many  yards  of  calico,  a  part  of  the  blankets  are  dis- 
tributed among  the  visitors,  and  the  remainder  are 
scrambled  for  among  the  young  men,  the  donor  per- 
haps getting  on  top  of  a  house  and  throwing  the  blank- 
ets down  into  the  crowd  below.  The  feasting  and  the 
giving  may  last  for  a  week ;  and  when  the  affair  is 
over  the  guests  go  their  several  ways,  leaving  the  giver 
of  the  potlatch  a  poor  man.  When  the  next  potlatch 
takes  place,  however,  he  recovers  a  portion  of  his 
wealth,  and  after  a  few  more  have  been  given,  he  is 
better  off  than  ever.  Sometimes  at  these  feasts  canoes 
are  given  away,  and  even  guns  and  ammunition ;  and 
the  greater  the  gift,  the  more  is  due  the  giver  when 


134        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

those  who  have  received  gifts  from  him  themselves 
give  potlatches." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  that 's  a  queer  custom  and  a 
queer  way  of  thinking.  It  seems,  in  certain  ways, 
though,  a  good  deal  like  the  orders  that  were  given  in 
the  Bible,  to  take  all  you  have  and  give  it  to  the  poor. 
But  I  suppose  as  a  matter  of  fact,  instead  of  giving 
it  to  the  poor,  these  men  who  give  these  potlatches 
try  to  give  to  the  rich  instead,  so  that  they  may  re- 
ceive their  gifts  back  again." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  you  will  find  among  Indians 
everywhere,  that  one  making  a  gift  to  another,  or  a 
contribution  for  any  purpose,  expects  to  receive  it  back 
again.  If  a  man  should  die  before  he  had  paid  back 
the  gift,  his  relations  are  required  to  make  it  up." 

"  I  guess  Indians  are  alike  everywhere,"  said  Fannin. 
*'  Queer  people,  queer  people." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  that 's  just  exactly  what  the 
Indians  say  about  us :  '  the  white  people  are  queer.'  " 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE   ISLAND   DEER 

The  next  morning-,  after  the  canoe  had  been  loaded, 
Hugh  said  to  Fannin :  "  What 's  the  course  of  the 
canoe  from  here?  Are  you  going  to  cross  over  any 
of  those  channels,  or  shall  you  follow  the  shore?  " 

"  We  '11  follow  the  shore,"  said  Fannin.  "  If  this 
canoe  was  n't  so  heavy  we  could  carry  it  across  this 
little  point  and  save  ourselves  three  or  four  miles  of 
paddling,  for  you  see,  we  've  got  to  go  way  east  and 
then  come  back  west  again,  and  follow  around  the  bay 
that  lies  just  over  there." 

"  That 's  just  what  I  thought,"  said  Hugh.  "  Now, 
suppose  instead  of  my  going  into  the  canoe,  and  helping 
you  fellows  to  paddle,  I  take  it  afoot  across  this  neck, 
and  along  the  shore ;  and  see  if  I  can't  kill  something. 
We  need  meat  and  there  must  be  lots  of  deer  here, 
though  we  've  not  seen  any  yet.  There  's  plenty  of 
sign,  though." 

"  That 's  a  good  idea,"  said  Fannin,  "  and  I  wish 
you  would  do  it.  You  '11  have  a  lot  of  time  to  hunt,  but 
keep  close  to  the  shore  and  if  you  see  us  coming,  get 
down  on  the  beach  and  make  a  fire  as  a  signal  for  us ; 
otherwise  we  might  overlook  and  pass  you." 

"  All  right,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  '11  do  so." 

"Don't  you  want  to  go  along.  Jack?"  asked  Mr. 
Fannin.  Secretly  Jack  did  want  to  go,  very  much, 
for  he  had  an  idea  that  Hugh  would  find  some  game, 
and  that  there  would  be  a  chance  to  kill  one  of  these 
Island  deer;  but  on  the  other  hand,  he  thought  he 
should  not  shirk  his  share  of  the  paddling,  and  that 


136        JACK   THE   YOUNG    CANOEMAN 

one  man  could  kill  any  deer  that  was  seen  just  as  well 
as  two.  So  he  said:  "  No,  I  '11  go  in  the  canoe;  "  and 
they  pushed  off  and  were  soon  growing  smaller  in  the 
distance. 

Hugh  started  across  the  open  meadow,  which  lay 
between  them  and  the  other  side  of  the  long  point. 
As  he  passed  along  through  the  grass,  he  saw  many 
deer  beds,  and  a  number  of  tracks  of  wild  animals 
among  which  was  one  in  a  muddy  place,  made  by  an 
enormous  wolf.  He  walked  slowly  and  watched  the 
country,  and  at  last  came  to  the  shore,  followed  it 
and  was  soon  walking  under  the  tall  evergreens  that 
grew  down  to  the  beach.  Turning  into  the  forest, 
he  moved  quietly  along  among  the  great  tree  trunks. 
The  ground  was  free  from  undergrowth,  and  moss 
covered,  and  here  and  there  little  rivulets  trickled  over 
the  ground,  sometimes  bridged  by  fallen  tree  trunks, 
over  which  great  bunches  of  soft  green  moss  hung 
down  to  the  ground.  Here  and  there,  in  the  moss, 
were  seen  the  sharply  defined  tracks  of  deer,  seemingly 
just  made,  yet  no  indication  of  life  was  seen,  save 
the  occasional  shadow  of  a  bird,  moving  among  the 
tree  tops  far  above  him.  Hugh  had  gone  perhaps  half 
a  mile,  keeping  nearly  parallel  to  the  beach,  and  back 
from  it  about  a  hundred  yards,  when  without  warn- 
ing, a  deer  stepped  out  from  behind  a  group  of  tree 
trunks,  and  stood  looking  curiously  at  him.  There  was 
no  wind,  and  the  animal  did  not  seem  in  the  least 
alarmed.  The  shot  was  an  easy  one,  and  it  was  the 
work  of  but  a  few  seconds  to  fire.  The  animal  fell  at 
once,  and  stepping  up  to  him,  Hugh  found  that  it 
was  dead.  It  was  very  small,  scarcely  larger  than  a 
yearling  black-tail  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  although 
it  was  a  full  grown  buck.  It  resembled  the  Rocky 
Mountain  black-tail  somewhat,  but  its  ears  were  small 
and  the  tail  was  quite  different,  being  haired  below. 
In  a  very  few  moments  Hugh  had  prepared  the  animal 


THE    ISLAND    DEER 


ny 


for  transportation  to  the  beach,  and  putting  it  on  his 
back  walked  down  to  the  shore.  The  canoe  was  not 
yet  in  sight,  and  Hugh  considered  a  Httle  if  it  would  be 
better  to  go  on  farther  to  see  whether  he  could  get 
another  deer,  but  after  thinking  a  few  moments  he 
determined  to  be  satisfied  with  the  one  he  had  secured. 
So  he  built  his  fire  as  a  signal  for  the  canoe,  skinned 
his  deer,  and  for  an  hour  or  two  sat  w'aiting.  At 
last  a  black  speck  was  seen  on  the  water  close  to  the 
shore  of  the  point,  and  as  it  crept  forward,  it  grew 
larger  and  larger,  until  Hugh  could  recognize  his 
fellow  travellers. 

When  they  came  up  to  him,  they  wore  broad  smiles  of 
satisfaction  at  his  success,  and  w^hen  he  had  stepped  on 
board  the  canoe  went  on  again.  It  was  not  long  after 
this  that  they  were  obliged  to  run  Seymour  Narrows, 
a  contracted  channel  through  which  the  tide  boils, 
making  eddies,  whirlpools,  and  tide-rips,  and  where 
it  was  hard  to  see  how  a  canoe  could  live.  Just  before 
reaching  it  they  passed  a  cliff  on  Valdes  Island  that 
was  full  of  interest  for  Jack  and  Fannin.  The  dark 
gray  precipice,  crannied  and  creviced  from  base  to 
summit,  w^as  occupied  by  a  multitude  of  sea  birds  which 
were  nesting  in  the  holes  and  fissures  in  the  rocks.  Of 
these,  by  far  the  most  numerous  were  the  pigeon 
guillemots,  thousands  of  which  were  fishing  in  the 
waters  close  to  the  shore,  or  flying  backward  and  for- 
ward between  the  water  and  their  secure  homes  in  the 
rocks.  It  w^as  a  pretty  sight  to  see  them  diving  for 
food,  emerging  from  the  depths  with  something  in 
their  bills,  rising  from  the  water,  and  each  one  swiftly 
flying  toward  some  hole  in  the  face  of  the  precipice 
into  which  it  disappeared  without  checking  its  flight ; 
or  at  the  mouth  of  which  it  alighted,  and,  clinging 
swallow-like  to  the  inequalities  of  the  rock,  was  met  by 
its  mate  who  took  from  it  the  food  it  had  brought. 
Then  the  bird  would  leave  its  position,  fly  horizontally 


138        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

over  the  water  for  a  little  distance,  and  drop  vertically 
into  the  water,  striking  it  with  a  great  splash.  The 
scene  was  a  busy  and  noisy  one,  for  the  birds  were 
continually  chattering  and  calling  among  themselves. 
Gracefully  floating  on  the  water,  or  winnowing  their 
slow  w^ay  to  and  fro  over  its  surface,  were  white- 
breasted  seagulls  of  several  kinds;  and  fishing  and 
hunting  along  the  shore  were  ravens  and  crows,  while 
white-headed  eagles  rested  in  the  tall  trees. 

Before  attempting  the  passage  of  Seymour  Narrows, 
it  was  necessary  to  ascertain  the  stage  of  the  water. 
To  pass  the  Narrows  when  the  tide  was  against  them 
was  obviously  impossible;  nor  would  it  do  to  attempt 
a  passage  at  half  tide,  even  if  it  were  in  their  favor, 
for  at  that  time  the  tossing  waters  would  prove  ex- 
tremely dangerous  to  the  canoe,  —  so  the  Indians  told 
Fannin,  and  so  Fannin  reported  to  the  others. 

The  bowman  and  two  or  three  of  the  party  landed 
near  the  head  of  the  Narrows  and  climbed  high  enough 
on  the  hillside  to  see  the  whole  of  the  sluice-way,  and 
as  soon  as  the  Indian  had  looked  at  it,  he  turned  about 
and  started  back,  declaring  that  it  w^as  just  at  the  end 
of  the  flood,  and  they  should  start  without  delay.  To 
Jack,  the  sight  of  the  boiling  water,  the  tossing  waves 
and  hurrying  tide-rips  seemed  rather  alarming,  but 
there  w^as  no  time  to  think  of  this.  They  embarked, 
and  a  few  strokes  of  the  paddle  sent  the  canoe  dashing 
along  the  rapid  current.  For  the  white  occupants  of 
the  canoe,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  paddle  hard, 
each  in  his  own  place.  It  w-as  interesting  to  watch  the 
skill  with  which  the  Indians  guided  the  craft.  It  was 
of  the  first  importance  that  steerage  way  should  be  kept 
on  the  canoe,  for  there  were  constant  eddies  and  whirl- 
pools, which  must  either  be  avoided  or  taken  advan- 
tage of;  and  yet  at  the  rate  at  which  the  craft  was 
being  hurried  along  by  the  tide,  it  was  not  easy  to  add 
to  her  speed.    Before  long,  the  run  became  very  excit- 


THE   ISLAND    DEER 


139 


ing.  Hats  were  torn  off  and  thrown  into  the  bottom 
of  the  boat,  perspiration  started  from  every  brow,  and 
the  men  tore  at  their  paddles  as  if  their  Hves  depended 
on  it.  Even  Hugh,  who  was  rarely  moved,  seemed  to 
partake  of  the  general  excitement  and  his  eye  glowed 
and  his  color  rose  as  his  white  hair  and  beard  flew 
out  in  the  wind.  Hamset,  standing  erect,  in  the  bow 
of  the  canoe,  flourished  his  mighty  paddle,  and  in  his 
own  language  shouted  directions  to  Jimmie,  and  in 
Chinook  to  the  remainder  of  the  crew.  At  length  the 
channel  was  reached,  and  here  it  became  evident  that 
the  vessel  had  been  a  little  late  in  starting;  for,  meet- 
ing the  beginning  of  the  ebb-tide,  the  canoe  w^as 
checked,  and  presently  it  stood  still  and  for  nearly  half 
an  hour  obstinately  refused  to  move  forward.  But  at 
length  the  eft'orts  of  the  paddlers  seemed  to  overcome 
the  current  and  the  boat  started  on,  very  slowly  at 
first  but  fast  enough  to  encourage  the  motive  power. 
Redoubling  their  eft'orts  they  rounded  a  little  point,  and 
taking  advantage  of  a  favoring  eddy,  passed  out  into 
quieter  w^ater  and  camped  half  an  hour  later  in  a  little 
bay,  w^hich  Fannin  said  might  fairly  be  named  Fatigue 
Bay. 

That  night,  after  the  evening  meal  had  been  eaten, 
there  was  still  an  hour  or  two  of  daylight;  and  while 
Fannin  and  Charlie  got  out  their  lines  and  prepared 
to  go  fishing,  Hugh  and  Jack  took  their  rifles  and 
climbed  a  thousand  feet  or  so  up  the  hillside  to  look  at 
the  view  that  lay  before  them,  up  and  down  the  channel. 
During  the  climb  they  saw  fresh  bear-tracks  and  a 
number  of  familiar  birds,  —  the  Louisiana  tanager,  the 
black-throated  green  warbler,  and  some  others.  Not 
far  away,  a  ruffed  grouse  was  heard  drumming. 

While  perched  on  the  face  of  the  hillside,  Hugh 
told  Jack  the  simple  story  of  the  killing  of  the  deer. 

"  There  was  no  special  hunting  to  it,"  he  said,  "  I 
just  went  through  the  timber,  quietly,  and  presently  the 


140        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

deer  walked  out  and  got  shot.  I  did  n't  even  know  that 
it  was  there,  but  I  'm  glad  to  have  the  meat." 

They  sat  there  until  the  sun  had  set,  delighted  with 
the  calm  beauty  of  the  scene.  In  the  trees  above  their 
heads,  the  little  birds  moved  about  uttering  soft,  faint 
notes.  Up  from  a  ravine  on  the  right  came,  again  and 
again  at  short  intervals,  the  vibrating  thunder  of  the 
ruffed  grouse's  drumming,  low  and  muttering  at  first, 
and  finally  dying  away  into  the  silence. 

Twilight  was  upon  the  hill  before  they  returned  to 
camp,  and  as  they  picked  their  way  down  the  steep  rocks 
they  heard  from  the  direction  of  the  boat  a  shot,  and 
then  another  —  both  from  Hamset's  rifle,  and  learned 
a  little  later  that  the  Indian  had  been  shooting  at  a 
seal.  Fannin  and  Charlie  had  caught  some  rock-cod, 
curious  red  and  black  fish  with  staring  eyes,  said  to 
live  at  great  depths. 

As  the  cliff  rose  straight  up  from  the  water's-edge, 
and  there  was  no  beach  on  which  the  canoe  could  be 
drawn,  it  was  necessary  that  night  to  anchor  it  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  the  two  Indians  slept  in  it  and  chanted  their 
plaintive  songs  until  the  middle  of  the  night.  Around 
the  camp  fire  the  white  men  sat  in  silence,  watching 
the  strange  shadows  cast  by  the  dancing  flames  on  the 
overhanging  rocks,  or  listening  to  the  faintly  heard 
rushing  of  the  waters  in  the  Narrows,  which  they  had 
just  passed;  or  to  the  moonlight  drumming  of  the 
grouse  on  the  mountain  side  above  them.  It  had  been 
a  hard  day,  and  there  was  little  inclination  to  talk. 
Charlie,  however,  who  was  gratified  at  the  killing  of 
the  deer,  commented  on  that,  and  on  deer  hunting  in 
distant  lands. 

"  Why,"  said  he,  "  you  ought  to  see  them  Pueblo 
Indians  go  deer  hunting  down  in  Arizona !  They  start 
off  without  anything  but  a  knife,  and  when  they  find  a 
deer,  they  just  start  to  run  after  him  and  don't  stop 
until  they  get  him." 


THE    ISLAND    DEER  141 

"  You  don't  mean,"  interrupted  Jack,  "  that  they 
run  him  down?  " 

''They  do,"  said  CharHe;  "run  him  down,  catch 
him  and  cut  his  throat.  Why,  sir,  they  are  the  best 
trailers  in  the  world,  and  as  for  travelling,  they  can 
kill  any  horse  that  was  ever  foaled.  They  start  after 
the  deer,  and  when  he  sees  them  coming,  of  course  he 
lights  out,  and  is  not  seen  again  for  some  time.  The 
Indians  take  his  trail,  and  start  off  at  a  dog  trot,  which 
they  can  keep  up  all  day.  Every  time  they  start  the 
deer,  he  lets  them  get  a  little  closer,  and  at  last  he  's 
so  tired  that  he  only  keeps  a  few  yards  ahead  of  them, 
but  they  keep  on  until  he  fairly  drops,  plum  give  out! 
I  have  known  them,  when  the  deer  got  pretty  tired, 
to  turn  him  and  drive  him  right  into  the  camp  and 
kill  him  there,  to  save  themselves  the  trouble  of  pack- 
ing in  the  meat  —  make  the  game  pack  itself,  you 
see." 

"  That 's  a  pretty  tough  story,"  said  Hugh,  "  but  I 
guess  it  's  all  right.  I  've  heard  something  about  those 
fellows,  though  I  never  saw  them.  I  once  walked  down 
an  antelope,  myself,  and  I  would  n't  have  believed  it, 
if  I  had  n't  done  it.  The  antelope  was  wounded,  of 
course. 

"  The  camp  needed  meat  the  worst  way,  and  nobody 
seemed  to  be  able  to  kill  anything.  There  were  ante- 
lope in  the  country,  but  very  wild.  I  started  on  foot 
one  afternoon,  to  try  to  get  something,  and  after  travel- 
ling two  or  three  miles  I  looked  over  a  little  ridge,  and 
saw  three  buck  antelope  feeding  up  a  ravine  toward 
a  table-land  above  the  valley  where  I  was  hunting.  I 
could  easily  get  around  to  the  head  of  the  ravine  up 
which  they  were  going,  and  if  I  could  get  there  before 
they  reached  it,  I  w^ould  be  sure  to  kill  one  of  them.  I 
started  running  as  hard  as  I  could,  and  had  got  within 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  ravine,  when,  on  taking  a 
look,  I  saw  that  they  had  nearly  reached  the  top.     I 


142        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

was  still  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  away  when 
I  saw  the  horns  of  one  of  them,  as  he  walked  up  on 
the  mesa.  I  dropped,  and,  when  I  had  a  fair  shot, 
fired.  I  ought  to  have  killed  of  course,  but  whether 
it  was  because  I  was  so  anxious  to  get  him,  or  because 
I  had  been  running  hard  and  my  hand  was  unsteady, 
I  only  broke  the  buck's  hind  leg  just  above  the  hock. 
All  three  started  off,  but  the  wounded  one  soon  tailed 
out  and  then  turned  down  a  broad  valley  which  led 
into  the  one  up  which  I  had  come,  but  several  miles 
farther  from  camp.  Well,  I  started  after  that  buck, 
and  after  a  long  walk  found  him  lying  down  in  the 
valley.  He  saw  me  and  ran  off  down  the  valley,  long 
before  I  was  able  to  shoot.  I  followed  as  fast  as  I 
could,  running  till  my  wind  gave  out,  and  then  walk- 
ing till  I  got  it  again.  Whenever  I  could  get  near 
enough,  I  fired  a  shot,  just  to  keep  him  going.  At  last 
he  grew  so  tired  that  he  would  let  me  get  pretty  close 
up  to  him  before  starting,  and  finally  he  lay  down 
behind  a  bank,  where  I  could  creep  up  and  kill  him. 
I  carried  the  meat  into  camp  that  evening,  but  when  I 
got  there  I  was  so  thirsty  that  I  could  not  speak.  My 
throat  was  swollen  and  my  tongue  was  half  as  big  as 
my  fist." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  the  antelope  is  a  tough  beast 
and  will  take  a  lot  of  killing,  and  of  course  you  know 
better  than  I  do,  Hugh,  that  the  plains  Indians  always 
speak  of  it  as  the  swiftest  and  most  long  winded  of 
animals." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh.  "  A  man  often  ties  an  ante- 
lope's horn  round  his  horse's  neck  by  a  string,  to  make 
the  horse  swift  and  long  winded." 

"  I  saw  a  few  antelope,"  said  Fannin,  "  when  we 
crossed  the  plains,  but  not  many,  and  I  never  killed 
one.  They  are  mighty  interesting  animals,  and  what 
always  seemed  to  me  the  most  extraordinary  thing 
about  them  is  that  they  shed  their  horns." 


THE    ISLAND    DEER  143 

*'  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  that 's  so,  of  course,  all  moun- 
tain men  have  always  known  that,  but  I  heard  only 
a  few  years  ago  that  them  professors  that  claim  to 
know  everything  about  all  animals  only  found  it  out 
within  the  last  fifteen  or  tw^enty  years.  Something 
strange  about  that." 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  ''  but  I  suppose,  maybe,  these 
professors  never  had  a  chance  to  see  many  antelopes 
or  know^  much  about  them." 

"  Yes,  likely,"  said  Hugh. 

"  Well,"  he  added,  "  it 's  getting  late,  and  I  expect 
we're  all  ready  for  bed.  Let's  turn  in;"  and  they 
did  so. 

The  next  morning  an  early  start  and  a  full  day's 
paddling  carried  the  travellers  to  a  point  known  as 
Struggle  Cove,  which  they  reached  several  hours  be- 
fore sundown.  The  country  here  looked  better  for 
hunting  than  any  Jack  had  seen,  and  he  determined 
to  start  out  to  see  if  he  could  not  find  a  deer.  The 
w^oods  were  open,  the  ground  carpeted,  and  the  trees 
draped  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  bright  green  moss, 
on  which  the  foot  fell  as  noiselessly  as  on  a  cushion. 
Higher  up  on  the  mountain  side  there  was  the  usual 
tangle  of  underbrush,  but  a  little  valley  that  skirted 
its  base  was  comparatively  open.  As  soon  as  dinner 
had  been  eaten  Jack  set  out.  He  had  not  gone  far 
from  camp  when  he  came  on  to  fresh  deer  tracks, 
which,  after  a  little,  turned  up  the  hill  and  into  the 
thick  brush,  where  it  seemed  useless  to  follow\  Two 
or  three  other  tracks  were  seen,  all  of  w^iich  led  into 
the  same  thick  place;  but  at  length  he  saw  one  that 
kept  up  the  valley,  and  as  it  had  been  made  but  a 
short  time  before,  he  had  strong  hopes  that  he  should 
see  the  deer.  He  followed  the  track  very  slowly  and 
carefully,  and  as  it  grew  more  and  more  fresh,  his 
caution  became  greater.  He  entered  a  low  growth  of 
hemlock,  going  very  slowdy,  and,  just  as  he  was  pass- 


144        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

ing  out,  on  the  other  side,  he  heard  a  deer  jump,  not  fifty 
yards  away,  and  in*  a  moment  saw  it  bound  off  up  the 
mountain  side.  He  threw  up  his  gun  and  was  just 
about  to  press  the  trigger  when  the  animal  stopped 
and  looked  back,  giving  him  a  certain  shot.  With  the 
sound  of  the  rifle  the  deer  sank  and  rolled  part  way 
down  the  hill. 

This  was  very  satisfactory.  They  had  now  two  deer 
—  enough  to  keep  them  in  fresh  meat  quite  a  long 
time,  for  the  weather  was  so  cool  that  meat  would  not 
spoil. 

The  deer  taken  was  a  buck,  whose  horns,  still  in  the 
velvet,  as  did  also  his  teeth,  showed  that  he  was  full 
grown.  Yet,  compared  with  the  Rocky  Mountain  deer 
that  Jack  had  seen,  he  was  quite  a  small  animal. 

Jack  was  doubtful  about  his  ability  to  carry  the 
carcase  to  camp,  which  was  quite  distant.  But  after 
dressing  the  deer  and  removing  the  head  and  shanks, 
he  got  it  on  his  shoulders  and  slowly  staggered  to- 
ward the  camp.  It  was  a  heavy  load,  and  he  was  often 
obliged  to  stop  and  rest.  Before  he  got  half  way  to 
his  destination  he  was  rejoiced  to  see  Hugh  striding 
toward  him. 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  as  he  came  up  to  where  Jack 
was  sitting,  "  I  had  half  a  notion  that  you  had  killed 
something,  and  knew  that  if  you  had  you  would  find 
your  meat  a  pretty  heavy  load,  so  I  came  up  to  spell 
you  in  carrying  it  in.     Pretty  heavy,  is  n't  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  it  weighs  something,  and  the 
hardest  part  about  it  is  to  get  it  upon  my  back  again 
after  I  've  dropped  it  off  to  rest." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  '11  smoke  a  pipe,  and  then 
take  it  the  rest  of  the  way.  I  guess  I  'm  something 
more  used  to  big  loads,  to  say  nothing  about  being 
some  bigger  and  stronger." 

After  Hugh  had  finished  his  pipe  he  swung  the 
deer  on  his  shoulders  with  hardly  an  effort,  and  Jack 


THE    ISLAND    DEER 


145 


could  not  help  envying  him  the  splendid  strength  that 
he  displayed.  The  advent  of  the  second  deer  in  camp 
was  greeted  with  rejoicing.  The  Indians  grinned  at 
the  prospect  of  unlimited  meat ;  Charlie  was  delighted 
because  he  knew  that  the  party  would  rather  eat  deer 
than  bacon;  and  Fannin  and  Hugh  realized  that  the 
provisions  would  hold  out  just  so  much  longer  for 
this  reinforcement  of  food. 

It  was  at  this  camp  that  a  slight  modification  of  the 
manner  of  propelling  the  canoe  was  proposed  and 
carried  out.  When  the  party  had  left  Nanaimo  a 
couple  of  long,  heavy,  rough  oars  of  Indian  manfacture 
had  been  thrown  into  the  boat;  and  during  the  many 
days  of  paddling  that  had  elapsed,  the  idea  had  occurred 
to  Fannin  that  if  these  oars  could  be  used,  more  power 
could  be  applied  to  them  than  to  two  paddles.  He 
therefore  consulted  with  Hamset  on  the  question  of 
rigging  some  rowlocks  for  the  canoe,  and  this  was 
easily  arranged.  The  Indians  chose  a  couple  of  cedar 
saplings,  each  of  which  had  two  small  branches  grow- 
ing from  it  on  the  same  side,  at  right  angles  to  the 
stem  and  three  or  four  inches  apart.  He  cut  off  about 
six  inches  of  the  main  stem,  trimmed  down  the  side 
branches  to  within  three  inches  of  their  point  of  out- 
growth, and  then  split  the  main  stem  lengthwise  so 
as  to  leave  the  branches  standing  up,  looking  like  two 
thole  pins.  With  a  large  awl  he  punched  several  holes 
in  the  side  of  the  canoe  just  below  the  gunwale,  and, 
taking  some  cedar  twigs,  warmed  them  in  the  ashes 
of  the  fire,  and  when  they  had  become  hot  and  pliable 
he  sewed  the  piece  of  wood  holding  the  thole  pins 
firmly  to  the  gunwale,  afterward  driving  wedges  be- 
neath it  so  as  to  make  it  tight.  This  formed  a  capital 
rowlock.  This  was  done  on  both  sides  of  the  boat, 
and  thereafter  Fannin  and  Charlie  handled  the  oars, 
and  their  influence  was  felt  at  once  in  the  increased 

speed  of  the  canoe. 

10 


146        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

Rowingf  was  much  harder  work  than  paddhng,  but 
it  was  also  much  more  effective. 

The  next  day,  however,  the  oars  were  not  needed; 
the  wind  blew  fair,  the  sail  was  hoisted,  and  the  party 
ran  through  Cardero  Channel  and  up  Loughborough 
Inlet  to  its  head,  camping  late  in  the  afternoon. 

The  scenery  was  very  beautiful,  with  rounded  or 
dome-shaped  mountains  timbered  to  their  summits, 
and  occasionally  a  sharp  granite  peak  which  ran  up 
much  higher  and  was  covered  with  snow.  The  hills 
stood  back  at  some  distance  from  the  water,  and  thus 
looked  lower  than  they  really  were. 

It  was  not  easy  to  find  a  good  place  to  camp  here. 
The  meadow  at  the  head  of  the  inlet  looked  as  if  it 
might  shelter  many  mosquitoes,  but  a  little  farther 
down  the  inlet  was  a  flat,  grass-grown  but  dangerously 
near  to  high-water  mark.  Fannin  shook  his  head 
doubtfully  when  he  looked  it  over,  for  on  the  grass 
were  a  few  fragments  of  seaweed;  though  the  fresh 
meadow  grass  seemed  to  show  that  the  flat  was  sel- 
dom covered  by  the  tide.  Camp  was  made,  and  after 
supper  Fannin  and  both  of  the  Indians  started  off  to 
look  for  game.  Jack  and  Hugh  were  keeping  camp, 
when  suddenly  Jack  observed  that  the  water  was 
rising  higher  than  had  been  expected,  and  it  was  soon 
evident  that  a  few  inches  more  would  cover  the  flat. 
They  waited  for  a  little  while,  in  the  hope  that  it 
would  recede,  but  presently  all  hands  had  to  rush 
about  to  keep  things  from  getting  wet.  It  took  but 
a  short  time  to  roll  up  the  bedding  and  carry  it  into 
the  forest,  to  pull  down  the  tent  and  to  lift  the  pro- 
visions and  mess  kit  up  on  drift  logs.  Half  an  hour 
later  camp  had  been  remade  in  the  forest,  and  six 
inches  of  water  covered  the  flat  where  they  had  ex- 
pected to  sleep. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

AN    ADVENTURE    OF    THE    CASSIAR 

The  next  morning  the  canoe  started  down  the 
inlet,  following  the  opposite  shore.  As  they  rounded 
a  point  of  rocks,  a  few  miles  below  the  camp,  they 
saw  standing  on  the  rocks  close  to  the  shore  two  deer, 
a  buck  and  a  doe.  The  sun  was  yet  low,  directly 
behind  the  canoe,  and  in  the  eyes  of  the  deer.  The 
deer  saw  the  vessel,  but  did  not  seem  able  to  make  it 
out.  The  various  members  of  the  party  got  their 
rifles  in  readiness  and  put  them  where  they  could  be 
easily  reached,  and  then  continued  their  steady  pad- 
dling toward  the  deer.  They  had  come  to  within  a 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  them,  and  might  have 
pushed  much  nearer  had  not  one  of  the  Indians  fired 
a  shot.  This  was  the  signal  for  a  general  fusillade, 
the  result  of  which  was  —  nothing.  It  is  very  often  a 
fact  that  when  several  men  are  firing  at  one  object  it 
is  missed  by  all.  There  is  always  a  little  excitement; 
each  man  is  anxious  to  fire  as  soon  as  he  can,  for  he  is 
nervous  and  wishes  himself  to  kill  the  game.  The 
hurry  and  confusion  throws  every  one  a  little  off  his 
balance,  and  the  result  is  poor  shooting. 

After  the  deer  had  disappeared  into  the  forest,  and 
the  paddling  had  been  resumed,  Hugh  said :  "  Well, 
I  expect  I  've  seen  that  happen  fifty  times.  Wlien  you 
get  a  lot  of  men  shooting  at  a  group  of  animals  they 
almost  always  get  clear  off,  or  if  one  of  them  is  killed 
it 's  just  an  accident.  I  remember  once  seeing  half 
a  dozen  antelope  gallop  by  not  more  than  fifty  yards 
from  a  company  of  soldiers  that  were  halted,  and  I 


148        JACK   THE   YOUNG    CANOEMAN 

believe  every  man  fired  half  a  dozen  shots  and  not  a 
hair  was  touched." 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  ''  you  take  even  a  couple  of 
men  who  know  each  other,  and  who  try  to  fire  at  game 
at  the  same  time,  and  the  result  is  always  likely  to  be 
a  miss;  and  if  there  are  a  lot  of  men  firing  at  will 
they  send  their  bullets  in  every  direction  except  the 
right  one." 

Jack  felt  mortified  at  his  failure  to  hold  his  gun  as 
he  felt  he  should  have;  but  he  was  a  little  consoled 
to  think  that  he  had  done  no  worse  than  the  two  older 
hunters  who  had  also  been  shooting. 

Charlie,  on  the  other  hand,  not  having  a  gun,  seemed 
to  be  quite  delighted  with  the  result  and  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  deride  the  other  members  of  the  party  on  their 
bad  shooting. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  inlet  and  between  that  point  and 
Philip's  Arm  the  tide  was  running  very  strong.  The 
canoe  had  a  fine  sailing  breeze  behind  it,  the  sails  were 
spread,  and  the  men  worked  hard  at  the  paddling,  but 
they  were  barely  able  to  overcome  the  tide.  Jack  was 
interested  in  the  appearance  of  the  current  as  it  ran 
through  the  narrow  channel.  He  could  see  that  the 
surface  of  the  water,  instead  of  being  level  as  we 
always  suppose  it  to  be,  was  here  inclined,  and  that 
the  water  was  evidently  higher  at  the  point  from  which 
it  came  than  at  the  point  toward  which  it  was  flowing 
—  in  other  words,  it  was  like  the  water  in  a  stream 
flowing  from  a  high  level  to  a  lower  one.  Jack  called 
Hugh's  attention  to  this  singular  appearance,  and 
Hugh  at  first  hardly  believed  that  it  could  be  so.  But, 
after  carefully  looking,  he  acknowledged  that  it  seemed 
to  be.  Fannin  said  that  this  was  often  the  case  in  these 
narrow  channels  where  the  tide  ran  swiftly. 

Just  before  they  reached  Philip's  Arm  the  wind  fell, 
and  all  save  the  Indians  landed  on  the  shore,  and,  tying 
a  rope  to  the  bow  of  the  boat,  pulled  it  up  around  the 


AN   ADVENTURE    OF   THE    CASSIAR      149 

last  point  into  the  quiet  water  beyond.  Here  they 
took  to  the  paddles  again,  and  went  on  until  dark,  for 
some  time  looking  in  vain  for  a  place  where  they 
could  camp.  The  shore  rose  steeply  from  the  water, 
and  there  was  no  place  for  one  to  spread  his  blankets. 

At  last,  quite  after  dark,  as  they  were  coasting  along 
the  shore,  the  sound  of  the  running  water  was  heard; 
and,  landing  near  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  they  found 
a  bit  of  moderately  level  ground.  Now,  by  the  light 
of  the  fire,  brush,  stumps  and  rocks  were  cleared  away 
and  holes  filled  up,  so  that  a  comfortable  night  was 
passed. 

The  next  morning  there  was  a  fine  breeze,  and  with 
some  help  from  the  paddles  the  canoe  made  good 
progress.  During  the  day  the  mouth  of  two  broad 
but  short  arms  of  the  sea  were  passed,  which  Fannin 
told  them  were  Frederick's  and  Philip's  Arms.  They 
enter  the  coast  between  mountains  three  or  four  thou- 
sand feet  high,  and  are  spots  of  great  beauty.  About 
the  middle  of  the  morning  Jack  saw  a  couple  of 
canoes,  each  of  which  held  two  or  three  Indian  women. 
Jack  asked  Fannin  who  these  people  were,  and  Fannin 
appealed  to  Hamset,  who  told  him  that  they  w^ere 
women  who  had  been  gathering  berries.  While  they 
were  still  a  long  way  off  Hamset  hailed  the  women 
with  a  curious  singing  call,  and  they  replied  with  the 
same  call,  faintly  heard  across  the  waters.  As  the 
canoe  approached  the  shore  there  was  much  conversa- 
tion between  the  Indians  who  chattered  at  a  great  rate. 
They  all  seemed  disposed  to  stop  and  visit  for  a  while, 
but  Fannin  was  anxious  to  push  on,  and  after  a  few 
inquiries  of  one  of  the  women  about  the  rapids  which 
were  just  ahead,  the  vessels  parted  company.  Long 
after  the  canoes  were  out  of  ear-shot  of  ordinary  con- 
versation the  Indians  continued  their  talking  to  each 
other,  in  musical  tones,  laughing  at  each  other's  jokes 
as  they  came  across  the  ever  widening  stretch  of 
water. 


150        JACK   THE   YOUNG    CANOEMAN 

Soon  after  leaving  the  Indians,  the  canoe  reached 
the  mouth  of  a  narrow  channel  through  which  ran 
a  rapid,  swifter  than  any  yet  seen.  The  passage  was 
less  than  a  hundred  yards  in  width,  and  the  water, 
so  far  as  it  could  be  seen  ahead,  presented  to  the  eye 
nothing  but  a  milk-white  torrent,  whose  tossing  waves 
were  from  three  to  five  feet  high.  The  Indians  seemed 
to  hesitate  a  little  about  running  this  rapid,  and  both 
went  ashore  and  followed  down  the  bank  for  a  little 
way,  looking  for  the  best  course  to  follow.  On  their 
return  they  said  that  the  passage  might  be  made,  and 
in  a  few  moments  the  canoe  w^as  darting  over  the 
white  water.  All  that  could  be  done  w^as  to  keep  her 
straight.  Her  motion  was  so  rapid  that  it  was  quite 
impossible  to  feel  the  water  with  the  paddles.  While 
it  lasted  the  run  was  quite  exciting;  but  it  was  soon 
over,  for  the  channel  was  only  half  a  mile  in  length, 
and  there  was  but  little  time  to  think  about  their  pos- 
sible danger  or  the  pleasure  of  the  passage.  To  Jack 
it  was  a  delightfully  exhilarating  ride,  and  there  was 
enough  uncertainty  to  it,  a  possibility  of  danger,  in 
fact,  which  made  it  the  most  exciting  experience  of  the 
trip. 

As  the  canoe  moved  slowly  along  over  the  stretch  of 
quiet  water  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids  Jack  happened  to 
glance  over  the  side  of  the  canoe,  and  saw,  lying 
quietly  on  the  white  sand,  a  large  school  of  beautiful 
trout.  The  fish  were  very  large,  some  of  them  appar- 
ently a  foot  and  a  half  long.  He  felt  a  great  longing 
to  stop  there  and  take  some  of  these  fish,  but  they  all 
felt  that  they  had  no  time  now  to  go  fishing.  The 
trout  paid  no  attention  to  the  craft,  lying  perfectly 
motionless,  except  when  its  shadow  fell  upon  them. 
Then  they  moved  slowly  away  into  the  sunlight. 

Threading  its  way  among  the  beautiful  islands  which 
dotted  Cardero  Channel,  the  canoe  moved  slowly  along 
imtil  a  point  was  reached  where  its  course  must  be 


AN    ADVENTURE    OF    THE    CASSIAR      151 

changed  from  southeast  to  northwest,  to  pass  through 
the  narrow  passage  between  the  mainland  and  Stuart 
Island,  through  Arran  Rapid  and  then  up  into  Bute 
Inlet.  Here  there  had  been  a  fishing  station  for  dog- 
fish —  small  sharks,  valuable  only  for  the  oil  that  their 
liver  contains,  and  destructive  to  all  fish  life.  For  some 
distance  the  shore  was  strewn  with  the  carcases  of 
dog-fish  captured  by  the  Indians;  and  in  some  places 
the  trees  were  almost  black  with  the  crows  and  ravens 
which  had  gathered  here  in  great  numbers  to  feed  on 
the  dead  fish. 

The  birds  were  very  tame  indeed,  and  often  sat  indo- 
lently on  a  limb,  under  which  the  canoe  was  passing. 
Cocking  their  heads  to  one  side  they  looked  down  on 
the  travellers  in  an  unconcerned  and  impudent  fashion 
that  was  amusing  or  provoking  according  to  the  mood 
of  the  individual  at  whom  they  were  gazing. 

At  the  head  of  the  bay,  just  beyond  the  point  where 
the  ravens  were  so  plenty,  is  an  Indian  village  where 
nearly  a  hundred  years  before  the  explorer  Vancouver 
had  spent  a  winter  during  his  voyage  along  this  coast. 
The  village  is  at  the  head  of  a  deep  bay.  A  beautiful 
clear  stream  of  ice-cold  water  runs  by  it,  and  there  is 
a  considerable  area  of  arable  land  on  either  side  of  the 
stream.  The  canoe  stopped  here,  for  the  Indians  who 
were  navigating  it  said  that  they  w^ished  to  inquire  of 
their  friends  about  the  passage  of  the  rapids  just  ahead. 
As  they  waited,  Jack  noticed  running  across  the  bay 
a  number  of  small  logs  in  a  line,  and  finally  inquired 
of  Fannin  what  this  meant,  and  Fannin  asked  the 
Indians.  After  some  little  conversation  Fannin  turned 
to  Jack  and  said :  "  Why,  that 's  a  line  running  across 
the  bay  from  one  side  to  the  other,  and  supported,  as 
you  see,  by  these  log  floats.  About  eveiy  twenty  feet 
or  so,  smaller  lines,  six  feet  in  length,  and  each  one 
carrying  a  baited  hook,  hang  down  from  the  main  line. 
You  can  easily  see  that  as  this  main  line  runs  right 


152        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

across  the  bay,  no  fish  can  get  up  or  down  without 
passing  the  baits.  I  expect  they  catch  a  whole  lot  of 
fish." 

"  Why,"  said  Hugh,  ''  there  's  something  that  looks 
like  home !  That 's  nothing  but  a  trot  line,  such  as 
I  've  seen  a  thousand  times  when  I  was  a  boy  back  in 
Kentucky.  It 's  a  sure  good  way  of  catching  cat  fish, 
but  I  never  would  have  expected  to  see  it  out  in  this 
country  and  among  these  Indians." 

Beyond  this  village  the  canoe,  after  passing  the  very 
noticeable  mountain  which  stretches  across  Stuart 
Island,  and  which  looks  like  a  high  wall  built  along  the 
coast,  ran  Arran  Rapids.  Before  entering  the  passage 
the  party  landed  and  climbed  the  hills,  from  which  the 
whole  stretch  of  troubled  waters  could  be  seen.  To 
Jack  and  Hugh,  and  possibly  to  Fannin,  the  prospect 
seemed  rather  terrible,  and  the  roar  of  the  torrent  was 
not  assuring.  In  some  places  the  water  was  tossed  up 
as  if  by  a  heavy  gale,  and  white-capped  waves  reared 
snowy  crests  high  in  the  air.  Near  such  an  area  of 
agitation  were  seen  other  spaces  where  deep  whirlpools 
sucked  away  the  water,  leaving  their  centres  much 
lower  than  the  neighboring  level ;  and  scattered  about 
among  the  waves  and  whirlpools  were  other  stretches 
of  water  less  violently  agitated,  where  the  green  oil- 
like fluid  rolled  over  and  over  with  a  slow,  repressed 
motion.  All  the  time  the  dull  roar  or  a  muffled  moan- 
ing rose  from  the  channel.  "  This,"  said  Fannin,  ''  is 
what  the  Indians  call  a  *  Skookumtsook  '  "  (strong 
water). 

The  Indians  were  watching  the  flood,  waiting  for  the 
proper  time  to  make  a  start,  and  at  last  Hamset  rose 
and  led  the  way  down  to  the  canoe.  The  tide  was 
just  at  the  full ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  rapids  the  ebb 
was  met  and  a  hard  struggle  ensued,  the  paddles  and 
oars  flying  as  fast  as  they  could.  The  canoe  began  to 
go  backward,  and  as  it  slowly  yielded  to  the  irresistible 


AN   ADVENTURE    OF   THE    CASSIAR      153 

force,  Hamset,  the  bowman,  turned  and  shouted  that 
they  must  make  for  the  shore.  They  did  so,  and  when 
they  had  nearly  reached  it  he  turned  again  and  declared 
that  a  present  must  be  given  to  the  water  or  they  would 
all  be  drowned;  but  before  this  sacrifice  had  been 
made,  a  few  strokes  carried  the  vessel  into  an  eddy, 
which  enabled  it  to  creep  along  close  to  the  shore  until 
the  more  quiet  water  at  the  mouth  of  Bute  Inlet  was 
reached. 

Just  after  leaving  the  rapids  they  came  upon  an 
Indian  camp,  whose  people  had  come  down  from  their 
main  village  at  the  head  of  the  Inlet.  The  canoe  pushed 
to  shore  to  enable  the  travellers  to  talk  with  the  people 
of  the  camp,  and  to  make  inquiries  about  the  Inlet,  and 
what  was  to  be  found  at  its  head.  The  Indians  had 
pleasant  faces  and  manners,  and  seemed  a  kindly  folk, 
much  interested  in  the  movements  of  the  three  "  I3oston 
men,"  for  they  were  quick  to  recognize  Hugh,  Jack, 
and  Charlie  as  different  from  Fannin.  They  said  that 
their  village  stood  on  a  flat  at  the  head  of  the  inlet 
where  the  Homalko  River  entered  it.  On  the  moun- 
tains about  the  village  they  said  there  was  much  ice, 
and  that  a  trail  led  from  the  village  to  one  of  these 
glaciers.  ''  Now,"  they  said,  "  our  houses  are  empty, 
all  our  people  being  scattered  along  the  coast  fishing." 
This  camp  was  the  last  to  start  out  to  try  its  luck.  For 
provisions  they  had  a  porpoise,  which  they  had  killed 
on  the  w^ay  down,  some  herring,  and  one  twenty-five 
pound  salmon. 

Charlie,  who  discovered  the  salmon,  seized  it  at 
once,  and  lifted  it  up  to  view;  and  Hugh,  who  was 
always  amused  at  Charlie's  interest  in  the  question  of 
eatables,  joked  him  about  the  way  he  "  froze  to  "  the 
fish,  which  Fannin  presently  bought  for  "  four  bits  " 
or  half  a  dollar. 

A  little  later  Hugh,  who  was  wandering  about  the 
camp,  called  Jack,  and  pointed  out  to  him  one  of  the 


154        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

rakes  with  which  the  Indians  caught  herrings.  It  was 
just  as  the  sailor  had  described  it  to  them  when  they 
were  on  the  steamer;  and  it  was  easy  to  see  how  the 
keen  points  of  the  nails  which  projected  from  either 
edge  of  the  pole  could  pierce  and  hold  the  herring. 

After  they  had  left  the  village  of  the  friendly  Hom- 
alko  Indians  the  canoe  moved  slowly  along  up  the 
inlet,  and  an  hour  or  two  before  sunset  made  camp  on 
a  gravelly  beach  two  or  three  miles  above  the  Amor 
Point. 

Near  camp  there  were  a  few  trees,  and  noticeable 
among  them  a  tall  dead  spruce,  in  which  was  a  huge 
eagle's  nest.  From  the  time  of  their  arrival  until  dark 
one  of  the  eagles  was  coming  and  going,  bringing  food 
to  the  whistling  young,  whose  voices  were  plainly 
heard  and  whose  movements  were  sometimes  seen.  No 
feature  of  this  coast  was  more  interesting  or  more  sur- 
prising to  Jack  than  the  abundance  of  the  eagles.  They 
were  seen  everywhere  and  at  all  times.  Sometimes 
during  the  morning  fifteen  or  twenty  of  the  great  birds 
were  passed,  and  half  a  dozen  of  their  nests. 

Jack  talked  with  Fannin  about  their  abundance. 

"  Of  course  they  're  plenty,"  said  Fannin,  "  and 
there  's  no  reason  why  they  should  n't  be.  You  see 
they  're  absolutely  without  enemies ;  no  one  ever  thinks 
of  injuring  them,  and  none  die  except  from  old  age 
or  accident.  They  breed  undisturbed,  and  there  is,  as 
you  have  seen,  an  unending  supply  of  food.  Why 
should  n't  they  increase  ?  I  can  fancy  that  a  time  might 
come  when  the  eagles  would  be  so  abundant  here  as  to 
be  a  pest.  Though,  just  what  harm  they  could  do,  it 
is  hard  to  say.  I  hate  an  eagle,  myself,  and  would  be 
glad  to  destroy  them  all  if  I  could;  but  then,  I  haVe 
a  special  reason  for  it." 

That  night,  as  they  were  sitting  about  the  fire.  Jack 
asked  Fannin  what  his  reason  was  for  disliking  the 
eagles;  and  after  a  little  hesitation  Fannin  told  him 
a  story. 


AN   ADVENTURE    OF   THE    CASSIAR      155 

"  It  was  back  in  the  sixties,"  he  said ;  ''  and  I  had 
joined  the  rush  to  Cassiar,  and  my  partner  and  myself 
had  struck  a  prospect  late  in  the  summer.  It  looked 
well,  and  we  held  on  until  too  late.  The  snow  came, 
and  fell  heavily,  and  we  made  up  our  minds  that  we 
would  have  to  winter  there,  yet  we  had  practically 
nothing  to  eat.  We  had  built  a  cabin,  but  it  was  not 
fitted  up  for  winter,  and  there  was  no  stock  of  pro- 
visions. The  question  was,  what  should  we  do?  If 
we  started  to  go  back  to  our  own  cabin,  two  hundred 
miles  away,  where  our  main  supplies  w^re  stored,  we 
could  probably  get  there  on  short  commons.  On  the 
other  hand,  this  would  mean  wintering  away  from  our 
prospect,  doing  no  work  on  it  through  the  winter,  and 
wasting  some  weeks  of  time  in  spring  to  get  back  to 
it.  On  the  other  hand,  if  one  of  us  stayed  in  the  cabin 
with  what  provisions  we  had,  and  the  other  went  back 
and  got  a  fresh  supply,  we  could  winter  by  the  pros- 
pect, work  on  it  during  the  winter,  and  be  on  hand  in 
the  spring  to  push  the  summer  work.  This  seemed 
the  best  thing  for  us  to  do.  Then  came  the  question : 
*  Who  should  go  for  the  grub  ?  '  We  were  both  will- 
ing to  go.  There  w^as  no  special  choice  between  going 
and  staying.  The  man  who  stayed  behind  would  have 
a  pretty  lonesome  time  of  it,  but  would  have  enough 
to  occupy  him.  The  man  who  went  would  have  a 
lonely  time,  too,  but  he  would  be  travelling  constantly 
and  working  hard.  We  could  not  make  up  our  minds 
which  should  go,  and  finally  we  drew  lots  for  it,  and 
it  fell  to  me  to  go.  I  took  my  snowshoes  and  toboggan 
and  some  grub,  and  started.  As  I  would  be  gone  some 
weeks,  most  of  the  food  must  be  left  with  my  partner, 
and  I  could  depend  in  some  sort  on  my  rifle.  I  should 
have  no  time  to  hunt,  but  there  was  always  some  like- 
lihood of  running  on  game. 

*'  I  started  early  one  morning,  and  that  afternoon 
it  began  to  snow,  and  it  kept  on  snowing  for  four  days. 


156        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

I  travelled  slowly,  for  the  ground  was  covered  deep 
with  a  light,  fluffy  snow,  on  which  snowshoes  were 
not  much  good ;  and  it  was  hard  to  haul  the  toboggan. 
Moreover,  the  ground  being  hidden,  I  could  not  choose 
my  way,  and  two  or  three  times  I  got  among  rocks  and 
timber,  and  broke  one  of  my  snowshoes.  That  meant 
a  halt  to  mend  it  —  a  further  delay.  It  was  soon  evi- 
dent that  I  was  going  to  run  short  of  food.  I  kept 
going  as  fast  as  I  could,  and  kept  a  good  lookout  for 
game,  but  saw  nothing,  in  fact,  not  even  a  track. 

*'  About  the  tenth  day  out  I  saw  one  of  these  eagles 
roosting  on  a  tree  in  the  trail  ahead  of  me ;  and,  with- 
out seeming  to  notice  it,  I  pressed  on,  thinking  that 
before  long  I  would  be  near  enough  to  kill  it,  and  that 
would  give  me  so  much  more  food.  Before  I  came 
within  reach,  however,  it  left  its  perch  and  soared  into 
the  air.  But  instead  of  flying  away,  it  merely  wheeled 
high  over  the  valley;  and  at  night,  when  I  went  into 
camp,  it  alighted  in  a  tree  not  far  ofl^,  and  sat  watching 
me.  This  continued  for  days,  and  all  the  time  my  grub 
allowance  was  growing  smaller.  I  cut  myself  down 
first  to  half  rations  and  then  to  quarter  rations.  I  was 
beginning  to  grow  weak,  and  still  had  a  long  distance 
to  go  before  reaching  our  cabin.  Two  or  three  times 
when  the  eagle  had  flown  near  me  I  had  shot  at  it  on 
the  wing,  hoping  to  kill  it;  but  with  no  result  except 
to  call  forth  the  whistling  cry,  which  some  writer  has 
described  as  a  '  maniac  laugh.' 

"  What  with  my  hunger,  my  weakness,  and  my 
loneliness,  it  got  so  after  a  while  that  that  eagle  got 
on  my  nerves.  I  began  to  think  that  it  was  following 
me;  just  watching  and  waiting  for  me  to  get  weak, 
and  stumble,  and  fall,  and  freeze  to  death ;  and  that 
then  it  would  have  a  good  meal  off  me.  I  began  to 
think  it  was  an  evil  spirit.  Every  day  I  saw  it,  every 
day  I  looked  for  a  chance  to  kill  it,  and  every  day 
it  swung  over  me  in  broad  circles  and  laughed  at  my 
misery. 


AN   ADVENTURE   OF   THE    CASSIAR 


157 


"  I  had  now  been  travelling  twenty  days  and  knew 
that  I  must  be  getting  close  to  the  cabin.  My  grub 
was  all  gone,  and  I  could  hardly  stagger  along;  but 
I  still  clung  to  my  toboggan,  for  I  knew  that  without 
that  I  could  n't  take  food  back  to  my  partner ;  and 
the  thought  of  him  back  there  at  work  on  short  allow- 
ance, and  sure  to  starve  to  death  unless  I  got  back  to 
him,  added  to  my  trouble. 

"  At  last  one  day  about  noon  I  came  in  sight  of  the 
cabin,  just  able  to  stagger,  but  still  dragging  the  to- 
boggan, which  had  nothing  on  it  except  my  blanket 
and  a  little  package  of  ammunition.  I  went  up  to  the 
cabin  door,  opened  it,  went  in  and  partly  closed  the 
door,  leaving  a  crack  through  which  I  could  watch 
for  the  eagle.  I  hoped  that  he  w^ould  stop  on  one  of 
the  big  trees  near  the  cabin,  and  w^atch  for  me  to  come 
out.  He  did  so,  lighting  on  a  limb  about  a  hundred 
yards  from  the  door.  He  made  a  big  mark.  I  put 
the  rifle  through  the  crack,  steadied  it  against  the 
jamb,  took  as  careful  a  sight  as  I  ever  took  at  anything, 
and  pulled  the  trigger.  When  the  gun  cracked,  the 
eagle  spread  his  wrings,  soared  off,  and  taking  one 
turn  over  the  valley,  threw  back  his  head,  laughing 
at  me.  He  sailed  away  over  the  mountains,  and  I 
never  saw  him  again. 

"  Two  or  three  full  meals  put  heart  into  me  once 
more,  and  with  a  good  load  of  food,  I  started  back  to 
my  partner.  Although  the  way  was  all  uphill,  I  got 
to  him  in  about  two  weeks.  On  the  way  back  I  killed 
two  deer  and  some  rabbits,  and  did  not  have  to  break 
into  the  load  of  provisions  on  my  toboggan.  When 
I  reached  him,  I  found  that  he  was  living  in  plenty. 
He  had  killed  four  caribou  that  had  Avandered  down 
close  to  the  cabin  one  night,  and  still  had  the  carcases 
of  two  hung  up,  frozen.  Since  that  time  I  have  never 
had  any  use  for  eagles." 


CHAPTER    XIV 

BUTE    INLET 

Bute  Inlet  is  the  most  remarkable  as  well  as  the 
most  beautiful  of  the  larger  fiords  of  the  British  Co- 
lumbia coast.  Its  great  length  and  the  height  of  the 
mountains  that  wall  it  in  make  it  unequalled.  No- 
where at  the  sea-level  can  such  stupendous  mountains 
be  seen  so  near  at  hand,  nor  such  sublime  views  be  had. 

At  its  mouth  the  Inlet  is  only  about  a  mile  in  width, 
and  in  its  widest  portion  it  is  not  more  than  two  and 
a  half  miles.  At  the  entrance,  the  hills  are  not  espe- 
cially high  or  rugged,  but  rise  from  the  water  in  a 
series  of  rounded  undulations.  Densely  wooded  to 
their  summits,  they  roll  away  in  smooth  green  waves 
to  the  higher  more  distant  mountains  of  the  interior. 
No  sharp  pinnacles  of  granite  nor  dark  frowning  prec- 
ipices interrupt  the  green  of  the  forests.  The  dome- 
shaped  hills  come  into  view  one  after  another,  always 
smooth  and  ever  green.  The  scene  is  one  of  quiet 
picturesque  beauty.  A  little  farther  up  the  inlet  the 
scenery  changes.  The  shores  rise  more  abruptly  from 
the  water's  edge,  but  though  the  mountains  increase  in 
height  the  soft  green  foliage  of  firs  and  cedars  still 
rises  toward  the  summits  in  an  unbroken  sweep.  Then 
masses  of  rock  lift  themselves  above  the  timber  line, 
glittering  in  the  sunlight  as  though  studded  with 
jewels,  or  when  shadowed  by  clouds  frowning  down 
cold,  black,  and  forbidding.  Soon  patches  of  snow 
begin  to  appear  on  the  mountains ;  at  first  visible  only 
as  narrow  white  lines  nestling  in  the  deeper  ravines, 
but  farther  along  large  snow  banks  came  into  view 


BUTE    INLET  159 

and  before  long  extensive  snow  fields  are  seen,  glit- 
tering white  on  the  summits,  or  even  down  among  the 
green  of  the  mountain  sides. 

The  canoe  started  early  and  a  fair  wind  enabled 
them  to  set  the  sail  and  to  sit  back  at  ease  all  through 
the  long  day  and  view  undisturbedly  the  enchanting 
scenery  which  they  wxre  passing. 

Jack  had  often  heard  his  uncle  describe  a  trip  that 
he  had  made  to  Norway,  and  his  journey  up  some  of 
the  fiords  of  that  rock-bound  coast.  As  he  now 
watched  the  shore  and  the  mountains  of  Bute  Inlet 
slip  by,  these  descriptions  were  constantly  brought  to 
his  mind.  Scarcely  less  impressive  than  the  wonderful 
cliffs  and  mountains  that  he  was  seeing,  were  the  beau- 
tiful streams,  fed  by  the  melting  of  the  perpetual  snow 
high  upon  the  hills.  These  streams  plunged  over  the 
precipices  in  beautiful  falls  and  cascades.  Long  before 
the  water  reached  the  rocks  below,  it  was  broken  up 
into  finest  spray;  and  a  white  veil  of  mist  waved 
to  and  fro  before  the  black  rocks,  in  fantastic  and  ever 
changing  shapes. 

Here  the  mountains  had  become  much  higher  than 
any  they  had  approached  before.  Instead  of  peaks 
from  twenty-five  hundred  to  four  thousand  feet  in 
height,  they  were  close  to  those  that  reached  an  altitude 
of  six  or  eight  thousand  feet.  One  of  these  was  Mt. 
Powell,  a  naked  peak  stretching  up  like  a  pyramid,  more 
than  six  thousand  feet  high ;  and  farther  on  there  were 
others  still  higher.  The  first  of  the  glaciers  was  seen 
just  to  the  north  of  Fawn  Bluff,  and  was  recognized 
by  Hugh,  who  called  out  to  Jack :  "  There,  son,  there  's 
a  chunk  of  ice.  Don't  you  see  how  it  shines,  blue  in 
the  sunlight,  just  like  one  of  the  glaciers  that  we  got 
sight  of  in  the  Piegan  country?" 

"  So  it  is,  Hugh.  I  recognize  it.  My !  Don't  I 
wish  we  could  get  up  close  to  it ;  but  it 's  awful  high  on 
the  mountains  and  terribly  thick  timber  below  it." 


i6o        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  reckon  it  would  be  quite  a 
climb  to  get  up  there." 

**  How  different  these  mountains  are,"  said  Jack, 
"  from  our  Rockies.  They  rise  so  much  more  steeply ; 
but  like  the  Rockies,  there  is  a  big  cliff  of  wall  rock 
on  the  top  of  each  one  of  them." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  in  the  mountains  that  we  see 
from  the  plains  the  slope  is  more  gradual;  first  foot 
hills,  and  then  a  long  timber  slope,  and  then  lastly  the 
rocky  peaks  that  rise  above  the  timber  line.  But  here 
there  are  no  foot-hills,  and  there  are  no  gradual  rising 
slopes  between  us  and  the  main  peaks.  A  man's  eye 
does  n't  get  a  chance  to  adapt  itself  to  the  highest  hills 
by  measuring  the  gentler  slopes  that  are  nearer  to  him. 
Here  the  mountains  rise  either  in  a  continual  slope 
or  else  in  a  series  of  cut  walls,  one  above  the  other,  to 
the  straight  up  peaks.  I  don't  believe  the  distance  on 
foot  to  one  of  these  mountains  is  more  than  twice  the 
mountain's  height.  I  don't  believe  many  people  that 
have  not  been  here  have  had  a  chance  to  stand  at  the 
sea-level  and  look  straight  up  to  a  snow  peak  right 
above  them  as  high  as  these  are.  That  is  what  makes 
these  mountains  seem  so  high  and  so  wonderful." 

A  few  moments  later  the  canoe  rounded  a  point  and 
a  long  reach  of  the  inlet  was  exposed  to  view. 

"There,"  said  Fannin,  "look  off  to  the  right! 
There 's  something  that  I  don't  think  many  people 
have  seen." 

"  My!     I  guess  not!  "  exclaimed  Jack. 

Off  to  the  right  was  a  tall  mountain  whose  summit 
was  hidden,  but  which  seemed  to  end  in  a  long  hori- 
zontal crest  crowned  by  a  wavy  covering  of  palest 
blue,  the  lower  end  of  a  great  glacier.  It  could  be 
conjectured  that,  running  down  from  some  very  high 
point,  this  river  of  ice  reached  the  top  of  this  mighty 
precipice,  and  little  by  little  was  pushed  over,  breaking 
off  in  huge  masses,  which,  from  time  to  time,  fell  over 


BUTE    INLET  i6i 

the  cliff  and  down  into  the  hidden  recesses  at  its  foot, 
where  possibly  another  smaller  glacier  made  up  of 
these  icy  fragments  ran,  for  a  little  way,  down  the 
valley. 

''  Look  at  those  little  grassy  spots  scattered  here 
and  there  along  the  mountain  side,"  said  Fannin; 
"  how  are  those  for  goat  pastures  ?  How  bright  those 
little  meadows  are  by  contrast  with  the  dark  foliage 
of  the  forest,  the  gray  of  the  rocks,  and  the  white  of 
the  snow  banks.  Those  must  be  great  feeding  places 
for  the  goats,  and  there,  I  guess,  they  are  never 
bothered  except  by  the  eagles  that  try  to  catch  the 
kids.  Surely  there  they  must  be  safe  from  everything 
except  enemies  that  can  fly.  Except  for  the  goats  and 
the  wood-chucks,  I  don't  believe  there  are  any  living 
things  up  there  but  birds.  I  '11  bet  there  are  lots  of 
ptarmigan  up  there,  brown  in  summer  and  white  in 
winter.  The  little  mother  bird  scratches  out  a  hollow 
in  the  turf  and  moss  near  some  fringe  of  willows,  and 
lays  her  brown  spotted  eggs  there,  which  by  this  time 
are  hatched.  The  young  are  queer,  downy  little  chicks, 
buff  in  color,  and  streaked  here  and  there  with  brown. 
You  would  hardly  think  it  possible  that  they  could 
stand  the  cold  winds,  the  fogs,  the  rain,  and  the  snows 
that  they  must  be  exposed  to." 

"Did  you  ever  find  a  nest,  Mr.  Fannin?"  asked 
Jack. 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  when  we  crossed  the  moun- 
tains on  our  way  from  the  East,  nearly  twenty  years 
ago,  I  found  the  nest  of  a  white-tailed  ptarmigan  high 
up  on  the  range,  but  I  have  never  seen  a  nest  of  these 
black-tailed  ptarmigan,  such  as  we  killed  up  on  the 
head  of  the  North  Arm.  Once  or  twice,  though,  I 
have  come  across  a  mother  with  her  young  ones,  and 
I  tell  you  the  mother  is  a  plucky  bird.  If  you  catch 
one  of  the  young  birds  she  will  come  back  and  attack 
you  and  make  a  pretty  good  fight.     I  have  had  one 


i62        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

come  up  to  my  very  feet  and  then  fly  against  my  legs, 
pecking  at  my  overalls  and  rapping  my  legs  with  her 
wings,  trying  to  frighten  me  into  letting  the  young 
one  go;  and,  of  course,  I  always  did  it  after  I  had 
finished  looking  at  it." 

"  I  don't  suppose  there  's  much  game  up  here,"  said 
Hugh  to  Fannin,  ''  except  these  goats  that  live  high 
up  in  the  mountains.  It  seems  too  cold  and  damp  here 
for  anything  like  deer." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  *'  I  don't  know  much  about 
that.  I,  myself,  have  never  been  here  before,  and  Bute 
Inlet  is  as  strange  to  me  and  just  as  beautiful  as  it  is 
to  you." 

While  all  this  talk  was  going  on  the  canoe,  pushed 
along  by  a  good  wind,  had  been  hurrying  up  the  inlet. 
They  passed  one  great  gorge  between  two  mountains, 
so  nearly  straight  that,  as  they  looked  up  at  it,  they 
could  see  on  the  mountain's  crest  a  great  glacier ;  and, 
pouring  out  beneath  it,  a  thundering  torrent,  which 
rushed  down  the  gorge  toward  the  inlet.  From  be- 
neath the  blue  mountains  of  ice  a  tiny  white  thread 
ran  down  the  slope,  constantly  increasing  in  size,  its 
volume  swollen  by  a  hundred  lesser  streams  which 
joined  it  on  its  way.  Always  a  torrent,  and  always 
milky  white,  it  swept  on,  sometimes  running  along  an 
even  slope,  at  others  leaping  down  precipices  a  hun- 
dred feet  high,  now  undermining  a  thick  crust  of  soil 
green  with  spruces,  again  burrowing  beneath  snow- 
drifts which  almost  filled  the  gorge.  Long  before 
they  came  to  it  they  heard  the  roar  of  its  fall ;  and 
as  they  passed  its  mouth  they  could  not  hear  the 
words  that  one  called  to  the  other.  The  rush  of  this 
great  mass  of  water  Jack  thought  enough  to  frighten 
one. 

When  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Homalko  River, 
at  the  head  of  the  inlet,  the  sun  had  disappeared  and 
the  great  walls  of  rock  about  them  cast  dark  shadows. 


BUTE   INLET  163 

The  peaks  of  the  mountains  were  still  touched  by  the 
sun,  and  the  snow  took  on  a  rosy  tint;  and  even  the 
black  granite  walls  were  lightened  and  softened  by  a 
ruddy  glow.  But  over  the  snow  fields,  on  the  high 
mountains,  the  rock  walls  and  peaks  cast  strange,  long 
shadows.  As  the  sun  sank  lower  and  lower  these 
shapes  seemed  to  lengthen  and  to  march  along  as  if 
alive.  Slowly  this  glow  faded,  until  only  the  highest 
peaks  were  touched  by  it;  and  then,  one  by  one,  as 
they  grew  dull,  twilight,  with  stealthy  footstep,  cast 
shadows  that  softened  and  blended  the  harsher  out- 
lines of  the  scene. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Homalko  River  began  a  couple 
of  miles  of  long,  hard  pulling  against  its  hurrying 
current.  At  last,  however,  after  winding  through  wide 
meadows  and  among  clumps  of  willows,  they  saw 
before  them  an  open  spot,  and  presently  the  houses 
of  the  Indian  village  appeared,  standing  close  to  the 
border  of  the  timbered  stream.  Soon  they  had  landed 
close  to  the  houses,  transferred  their  load  to  their 
shelter,  and  lifted  the  canoe  up  onto  the  meadow. 
The  day  had  been  one  of  excitement,  if  not  of  con- 
tinued effort,  and  all  were  tired  and  hungry.  More- 
over, as  soon  as  the  river  had  been  entered,  vast  swarms 
of  mosquitoes  attacked  them  and  made  life  miserable. 
Happily,  the  insects  did  not  enter  the  Siwash  house 
that  they  had  appropriated,  but  any  one  who  ventured 
out  of  doors  was  at  once  attacked.  That  night  the 
party  went  to  bed  with  little  delay,  hoping  to  spend 
the  next  two  or  three  days  in  an  investigation  of  the 
mountains  that  walled  in  the  narrow  river  valley  on 
both  sides. 

When  Jack  awoke  next  morning  he  saw  that  it 
was  daylight,  —  gray  dawn,  as  he  thought,  —  and  he 
turned  over  and  settled  himself  for  another  nap,  to 
await  Charlie's  announcement  that  breakfast  was  nearly 
ready.     A  little  later  some  movement  awakened  him, 


i64        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

and  when  he  opened  his  eyes  he  saw  Fannin  standing 
by  the  fire  already  dressed. 

Jack  asked:  "  Is  it  time  to  turn  out,  Mr.  Fannin?  " 

But  Mr.  Fannin,  with  an  expression  of  much  disgust 
on  his  usually  cheerful  countenance,  answered  briefly: 
"  You  can  sleep  all  day,  if  you  want  to." 

"  What  do  you  mean?  "  said  Jack,  in  some  astonish- 
ment. 

"Mean?"  replied  Fannin;  ''why,  it's  raining,  and 
you  can't  see  across  the  river." 

Jack  hardly  understood  what  this  meant,  but  as  he 
got  up  to  dress  he  heard  the  heavy  patter  of  rain  on 
the  building,  and  when  he  looked  out  of  doors  he  saw 
that  the  valley  was  full  of  a  white  fog,  almost  thick 
enough  to  be  cut  with  a  knife.  Nothing  could  be  seen 
of  the  surrounding  mountains,  the  mist  hid  everything 
except  a  few  yards  of  muddy  water  by  the  house,  and 
the  lower  branches  of  the  forest  behind  it.  It  was 
useless  to  venture  out  of  doors,  because  nothing  could 
be  seen.  It  would  have  been  folly  to  attempt  to  climb 
the  mountains  in  such  a  fog. 

The  rain  continued  all  day  long,  and  the  white 
men  sat  around  the  fire  and  smoked  and  talked  and 
grumbled.  The  Indians  had  a  better  time.  Imme- 
diately after  breakfast  they  returned  to  their  blankets 
and  went  to  sleep.  After  lunch  they  slept  again  until 
dinner  was  ready,  and  after  dinner  they  went  to  bed 
for  the  night.  Every  little  while  one  of  the  white  men 
would  go  to  the  door  in  the  hope  that  he  might  see 
some  sign  of  fair  weather,  but  none  greeted  him. 

The  second  day  at  the  Indian  village  was  like  the 
first;  it  rained  all  day  long,  and  this  was  followed  by 
a  third  day  of  downpour.  There  seemed  no  prospect 
that  the  rain  would  ever  stop.  Fresh  provisions  had 
given  out,  and  the  party  was  once  more  reduced  to 
bread  and  bacon. 

The  fourth  morning  it  was  still  raining,  and,  after 


BUTE   INLET  165 

consultation,  it  was  determined  that  the  bow  of  the 
canoe  should  be  turned  down  the  Inlet  and  that  they 
should  seek  fairer  weather  on  the  more  open  water 
of  the  Gulf.  To  all  hands  it  was  a  disappointment  to 
go  away  without  seeing  something  of  the  mountains 
they  had  so  much  admired  at  a  distance.  But  the 
flight  of  time  and  the  scarcity  of  provisions  made  it 
seem  necessary  to  proceed  on  their  way.  Accordingly, 
on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  the  canoe  was  loaded 
and  the  travellers  clad  in  oil  skins  and  rubber  coats, 
headed  down  the  Homalko  River.  The  rain  still  fell 
with  the  steady  persistent  pour  of  the  last  few  days, 
the  mountain  sides  were  veiled  with  a  thick  mist,  and 
the  party  had  only  the  memories  of  the  wonderful 
beauties  of  the  sail  up  the  inlet  to  console  them,  as 
they  swung  their  paddles  on  the  return  journey.  The 
mountain  climbing,  the  exploration  of  the  glaciers,  the 
views  of  the  towering  snow-clad  heights,  and  the  hunt- 
ing of  the  sure-footed  goats  —  these  pleasures  must  all 
be  abandoned.  So  they  paddled  down  the  Inlet  through 
the  fog,  with  nothing  to  see  and  with  nothing  to  do 
but  to  paddle. 

During  the  next  two  days  the  weather  continued  bad, 
with  wind  and  rain.  The  party  camped  at  Clipper 
Point  on  Bute  Inlet  and  at  Deceit  Bay  on  Redonda 
Island.  On  the  third  day,  near  White  Island,  a  heavy 
gale  sprang  up,  blowing  from  the  quarter  toward 
which  the  canoe  was  headed,  and  the  paddlers  not  only 
were  unable  to  paddle  against  it,  but  could  not  even 
hold  their  own.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to  land,  un- 
load the  canoe,  and  take  it  up  on  the  beach  out  of  reach 
of  the  waves,  and  to  wait  until  the  wind  went  down. 
Fresh  meat  was  still  needed,  and  Hugh,  Jack,  and 
Fannin  started  out  to  see  whether  they  could  get  any- 
thing. The  country  was  a  pleasant  one  to  hunt  in,  and 
consisted  of  open  ridges  with  bushy  ravines  between, 
and  a  little  scattering  timber  on  the  ridges.     Deer  and 


i66        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

bear  signs  were  plentiful,  and  Jack  was  much  interested 
in  noticing  the  great  size  of  the  stones  turned  over  by 
the  bears  in  their  search  for  worms,  bugs,  and  ant  eggs. 
One  large  piece  of  granite,  lately  turned  out  of  its  bed 
by  a  bear,  was  not  less  than  two  feet  in  any  direction, 
and  so  heavy  that  Jack  could  not  stir  it. 

Jack  was  walking  quietly  along  a  ridge,  watching  on 
either  side  of  him,  when  a  small  buck  that  he  had 
passed  unseen,  ran  out  of  the  brush  and  half  way  up 
the  slope  of  the  ravine,  and  stopped  to  look  back. 
It  was  a  fatal  error,  for  a  moment  later  Jack's  ball 
pierced  his  heart.  Like  all  the  deer  here,  this  one  was 
small.  Jack  remembered  his  struggle  with  a  previous 
deer,  and  only  attempted  to  carry  half  of  it  into  camp. 
When  he  got  there  he  sent  one  of  the  Indians  for  the 
remainder. 

Hugh  had  also  killed  a  small  deer,  which  he  had 
brought  into  camp;  and  so,  for  the  present,  all  anx- 
iety about  fresh  meat  was  at  an  end. 

They  had  a  good  dinner  that  night.  After  it  was 
over,  they  lounged  in  much  comfort  around  the  crack- 
ling blaze,  for  the  rain  had  gone  with  the  gales  that 
had  blown,  and  the  night  was  fair  and  cool. 

"  Hugh,"  said  Jack,  "  you  must  have  seen  bears 
feeding  often,  and  I  wish  you  would  tell  me  how  they  do 
it.  Of  course  I  Ve  seen  places  where  they  have  torn 
logs  to  pieces,  and  turned  over  stones ;  and  the  other 
day  I  saw  that  black  bear  gathering  berries  up  on  the 
river  at  the  head  of  the  North  Arm,  but  that 's  the 
only  bear  that  I  Ve  seen  feeding.  I  wish  you  'd  tell 
me  how  you  've  seen  bears  act  when  they  were 
feeding." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  as  he  pushed  down  the  fire  in 
his  pipe  with  the  end  of  his  forefinger,  "  that 's  asking 
me  to  tell  you  a  good  deal.  I  've  happened  to  see  bears 
feeding  a  number  of  times;  but,  of  course,  usually 
I  was  more  interested  in  killing  the  bear  than  I  was  in 


BUTE   INLET  167 

seeing  how  it  gathered  its  grub,  and  when  the  time 
came  for  a  good  shot,  I  fired." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  ''  that  is  natural  and  I  suppose 
that  is  just  what  I  would  have  done;  but  I  can't  help 
wondering  how  the  bears,  which  are  such  big,  strong 
fellows,  living  as  everybody  says,  on  berries,  mice, 
beetles,  and  ants,  ever  get  enough  to  eat  to  keep  them- 
selves alive;  and  yet,  as  I  understand  it,  they  always 
go  into  their  holes  fat,  in  the  Autumn." 

"  So  they  do,  so  they  do,"  assented  Hugh. 

"Well,"  said  Jack,  "tell  me,  then,  how  do  they 
keep  themselves  alive?  " 

"  That 's  hard  to  tell,"  said  Hugh.  "  Of  course,  on 
the  plains,  as  long  as  there  are  buffalo,  the  bears  get 
a  plenty.  There  are  always  buffalo  dying  of  old  age, 
being  mired  in  the  quicksand,  drowned  in  the  rivers, 
blinded  by  fire,  or  killed  by  the  wolves ;  and  the  bears, 
being  great  travellers,  come  across  these  carcases  all 
the  time,  and  feed  on  them.  Then,  of  course,  they 
catch  buffalo  sometimes,  by  crawling  on  them  through 
the  brush ;  and  at  other  times,  by  hiding  near  a  buffalo 
trail  and  grabbing  an  animal  that  goes  past.  You  've 
surely  heard  Wolf  Eagle  tell  about  the  big  fight  that  he 
saw  once  up  in  the  Piegan  country,  between  a  buffalo 
bull  and  a  bear,  and  if  you  have,  you  will  remember 
that  the  bull  killed  the  bear." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  I  think  I  heard  of  that,  but  don't 
know  that  the  story  was  ever  told  me  in  detail;  what 
was  it  ?  " 

"  Why,  the  way  Wolf  Eagle  tells  it,  he  was  cached 
down  near  a  little  creek  waiting  for  a  bunch  of  buffalo 
to  come  to  the  water,  so  that  he  might  kill  one.  They 
came  on,  strung  out  one  after  another,  and  had  got 
nearly  down  to  the  edge  of  the  water  when,  as  they 
were  passing  under  a  cut  bank,  a  bear  that  was  lying 
on  the  ledge  of  this  bank  jumped  down  on  the  leading 
heifer  and  caught  her  around  the  neck.     Of  course,  the 


i68        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

buffalo  all  scattered,  and  the  bear  was  trying  to  bite 
the  heifer  and  kill  her,  and  she  was  trying  to  get  away. 
In  a  minute,  however,  a  big  bull  came  charging  down 
the  trail,  and  butted  the  bear,  knocking  him  down  and 
making  him  let  go  the  heifer.  Then  there  was  a  big 
fight,  and  one  which  scared  the  Indian  a  whole  lot, 
so  much  that  he  did  not  dare  to  show  himself,  as  he 
would  have  had  to,  to  get  away.  The  bull  kept  charging 
the  bear,  and  every  time  he  struck  him  fairly  he  knocked 
him  down ;  and  every  time  the  bull  charged,  the  bear 
struck  at  him  and  tried  to  catch  him  by  the  head  and  to 
hold  him,  but  this  he  could  not  do.  They  fought  there 
for  quite  a  little  time,  both  of  them  fierce,  and  both  of 
them  quick  as  lightning.  After  a  while,  the  bear  had 
had  all  the  fight  that  he  wanted,  and  tried  to  get  away, 
but  the  bull  would  n't  have  it.  He  kept  knocking  him 
down  and  goring  him,  until  at  last  he  had  killed  him. 
Even  after  the  bear  was  dead,  the  bull  would  charge 
the  carcase,  and  stick  his  horns  in  it  and  lift  it  off 
the  ground.  The  Indian  said  that  the  bull  was  a  sight : 
that  he  did  n't  have  any  skin  on  his  head  and  shoulders, 
but  that  he  was  mad  clear  through,  and  seemed  to  be 
looking  around  for  something  else  to  fight.  Wolf 
Eagle  was  almighty  glad  when  at  last  the  bull  went  off 
and  joined  the  band." 

''  That 's  a  mighty  good  story,  Hugh,"  said  Jack. 
"  I  guess  in  those  old  days,  bears  killed  a  good  deal 
of  game,  did  n't  they  ?  " 

"  I  expect  likely  they  did,"  said  Hugh.  "  I  know 
that  whenever  you  hear  any  story  about  anything  a 
bear  has  done,  the  Indians  speak  of  his  killing  some- 
thing. You  remember  Old  White  Calf  Robe?  You 
must  have  seen  him  in  the  camp.  He  was  there  two 
years  ago  at  the  medicine  lodge.  I  remember  him 
there,  distinctly." 

"  No,"  said  Jack,  "  I  don't  think  I  do  remember 
him." 


BUTE    INLET  169 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  he  tells  a  story  about  being 
carried  home  by  a  bear,  one  time,  many  years  ago, 
after  he  had  been  wounded  in  war.  I  don't  doubt  but 
that  the  old  man  believes  that  he  is  telling  the  plain 
truth,  just  as  it  happened ;  but  in  that  story,  he  travelled 
along  with  a  bear  and  a  wolf,  and  I  know  that  he  says 
that  the  bear  killed  an  elk  for  him  to  eat,  and  I  think 
the  wolf  killed  something  for  him,  too,  but  I  can't  be 
sure. 

"  But  of  course,"  Hugh  went  on,  "  bears  don't  get 
very  much  meat.  Certainly  they  don't  live  on  meat, 
by  any  means.  When  they  first  come  out  in  the  spring, 
they  generally  travel  pretty  high  up  on  the  bare  ridges, 
and  live  largely  on  the  fresh  green  grass  that  starts 
early  on  the  hill-sides.  They  are  always  on  the  watch 
for  mice  and  ground  squirrels,  and  they  dig  out  a 
good  many  wood-chucks,  but  I  fancy  their  main  food 
is  grass.  Then,  a  little  later,  roots  start  up  which  they 
like  to  gather,  —  pomme-blanche,  camas,  and  a  whole 
slew  of  other  plants,  —  and  that  carries  them  along 
pretty  well  until  the  berry  time.  In  the  early  summer 
I  have  seen  them  in  little  mountain  parks,  digging 
out  mice  or  ground  squirrels.  A  bear  will  see  where 
a  mouse  or  ground  squirrel  has  a  run  close  to  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  and  if  his  nose  or  any  other 
sense  tells  him  that  it  is  inhabited,  he  will  quickly  run 
his  paw  along  the  tunnel,  digging  it  up,  and  if  the 
animal  happens  to  be  there,  throwing  it  out  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  Then  it  is  fun  to  see  a  big  bear 
that  will  weigh  three  or  four  hundred  pounds,  and 
maybe  twice  as  much,  dancing  around  and  striking  the 
ground  with  his  paws  to  try  to  kill  the  little  animal  that 
is  dodging  about,  trying  to  get  away.  You  'd  never 
think  how  mighty  activfe  a  bear  can  be  under  those 
circumstances. 

"  When  berry  time  comes  the  bears  spend  a  great 
deal  of  time  around  the  sarvis  berry  patches,  the  plum 


170        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

thickets,  and  the  choke-cherry  groves;  and  every  now 
and  then  a  number  of  Indian  women  gathering  ber- 
ries, will  run  across  one,  and  the  women  will  get  scared 
half  to  death,  and  light  out  for  camp.  Once  in  a  long 
time  an  Indian  gathering  berries  will  suddenly  come 
on  a  bear,  and  the  bear  will  kill  him;  or,  perhaps, 
sometimes  an  old  bear  that  is  mean  will  lay  for  an 
Indian,  and  kill  him  just  for  fun. 

"  The  Indians  say  that  when  the  sarvis  berries  are 
ripe,  bears  will  ride  down  the  taller  bushes,  pressing 
the  stems  down  under  their  breasts,  and  walking  along 
them  with  their  forelegs  on  either  side  of  the  stem. 
I  never  saw  them  do  it,  but  I  've  seen  plenty  of  places 
where  the  bushes  have  been  ridden  down  in  this  way, 
and  had  bear  hair  stuck  to  them.  I  once  saw  a  mother 
and  some  cubs  picking  huckleberries  high  up  in  the 
mountains  during  fall.  They  walked  about  from  one 
bush  to  another,  and  seemed  to  be  picking  the  berries 
one  by  one,  though  I  was  so  far  away  that  I  could  n't 
tell  much  about  it. 

''  It 's  fun  to  see  them  turn  over  stones,  and  they  're 
mighty  cute  about  it,  too.  Now,  if  you  or  I  have  oc- 
casion to  turn  over  a  stone,  the  chances  are  we  '11  stoop 
over  it,  take  hold  of  it  by  its  farther  edge,  and  pull 
it  over  toward  us,  and  of  course,  unless  we  straddle  it 
or  watch  it  pretty  close,  we  're  likely  to  drop  it  on  our 
toes ;  but  a  bear  always  turns  a  stone  over  not  toward 
himself,  but  to  one  side.  He  gets  his  hind  feet  well 
under  him,  braces  one  fore  foot,  and  then  with  the 
other  fore  foot  turns  over  the  stone,  swinging  it  out 
from  him  to  one  side,  and  after  he  has  finished  the 
motion,  he  drops  his  head  into  the  bed  where  the  stone 
lay  and  gobbles  up  whatever  insects  are  there.  Some- 
times he  makes  a  claw  or  two  with  one  foot  into  the 
bed,  perhaps  to  turn  up  the  ground  to  see  whether 
there  are  some  insects  below  the  surface,  or  to  see 
if  there  may  be  the  hole  of  some  little  animal  passing 
close  beneath  the  stone." 


BUTE    INLET 


171 


"  That 's  mighty  interesting,  Hugh,"  said  Jack, 
"  and  I  am  greatly  obHged  to  you  for  telHng  us  about 
it.  Now,  Mr.  Fannin,  have  you  seen  much  of  the  way 
bears  of  this  country  feed?" 

"  No,"  said  Fannin,  "  I  have  not.  You  see  in  this 
country  we  don't  have  a  chance  to  see  very  far.  It 's 
all  covered  with  timber,  and  it  's  only  once  in  a  while, 
in  such  a  situation  as  we  got  to  the  other  day  when  we 
were  goat  hunting,  that  we  have  an  opportunity  to  see 
any  considerable  distance.  So,  really,  all  that  I  know 
about  the  feeding  of  bears  is  what  I  have  discovered 
from  cutting  them  open  and  seeing  the  contents  of  their 
stomachs.  I  told  you  the  other  day  about  how  the 
bears  sometimes  came  in  and  carried  off  hogs  for 
us." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  I  remember  that,  of  course. 
Hugh,"  he  went  on,  "  where  are  bears  most  plenty 
back  in  our  country?" 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  there  are  a  good  many  bears 
along  the  Missouri  River,  and  in  the  low  outlying 
ranges  like  the  Moccasin,  Judith,  Snowy,  and  Belt 
mountains,  but  I  think  the  places  where  they  are  the 
plentiest  is  along  the  foot  of  the  Big  Horn  Range. 
You  take  it  in  the  early  summer,  there  's  a  terrible 
lot  of  bears  to  be  found  there." 

"  And  which  are  the  most  plentiful,  the  black  or 
the  grizzly?"  asked  Jack. 

"  Why,"  said  Hugh,  "  there  's  no  comparison.  The 
grizzlies  outnumber  the  blacks  about  three  to  one,  I 
should  say.  Black  bears  in  that  country  are  mighty 
scarce." 

"  And  in  this  country,"  said  Fannin,  "  you  can  say 
the  same  of  the  grizzly." 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE  WORK  THAT  GLACIERS  DO 

The  next  morning  the  sea  was  as  calm  and  placid 
as  if  its  surface  had  never  been  ruffled  by  a  gale,  and 
the  canoe  pushed  along  at  a  good  rate  of  speed.  Dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  the  afternoon  Jack  saw  on  a  long, 
low  rock,  close  to  which  the  canoe  would  pass,  a  number 
of  shore  birds,  running  here  and  there,  busily  feeding 
at  the  edge  of  the  water,  but  did  not  recognize  them, 
and  asked  Fannin  what  they  were.  After  a  close  look, 
Fannin  replied :  "  Those  here  are  turnstones ;  those 
others  seem  to  be  black  oyster  catchers." 

*'  Oh !  "  said  Jack,  "  try  and  kill  some  of  them  please. 
I  have  never  seen  either  bird.  I  know  the  oyster 
catcher  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  for  I  have  seen  several 
that  were  killed  on  Long  Island.  I  should  like  to  have 
some  of  these  birds  in  my  hand." 

Fannin  got  his  gun  ready  and  presently  fired  both 
barrels  at  the  birds,  and  in  a  few  moments  Jack  was 
admiring  them,  and  comparing  each  sort  with  its  cor- 
responding species  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  Before  the 
gun  was  fired,  he  had  noticed  that  the  oyster  catchers 
acted  very  much  like  those  he  had  seen  on  Long  Island. 
They  had  the  same  sharp  whistle  and  ran  along  the 
shore  in  the  same  way;  but  these  in  his  hand  were 
entirely  black,  while  those  that  he  had  seen  in  the  East 
were  brownish  with  much  white,  and  only  a  little  black. 

During  the  day  they  saw  many  old  squaw  ducks, 
which  Jack  knew  in  the  East  only  as  winter  birds. 

About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  wind  rose 
again,  and  began  to  blow  so  violently  that  it  was  neces- 


THE    WORK    THAT    GLACIERS    DO 


173 


sary  to  go  ashore  and  camp.  At  the  point  where  they 
landed,  deer  seemed  to  be  plenty,  and  the  beach  was 
dotted  in  many  places  with  their  tracks,  made  during 
the  day.  The  recent  rains,  however,  had  made  the 
underbrush  quite  wet,  and  as  there  was  plenty  of  fresh 
meat  in  camp,  there  seemed  no  special  reason  for 
hunting. 

During  the  night  a  deer  passed  along  the  beach  near 
the  tent,  and  when  he  had  come  close  to  the  place 
where  Charlie  had  made  his  bed,  the  animal  saw  the 
tent  or  smelt  its  occupants,  stopped  and  stood  for  a 
while,  and  then  jumped  over  Charlie,  running  off  with 
long  bounds,  into  the  forest. 

The  next  morning  the  wnnd  still  blew  hard,  and  it 
was  uncertain  whether  the  party  could  get  away  or 
not.  The  two  Indians  therefore  asked  permission  to 
hunt,  and  Fannin  loaned  his  rifle  to  Jimmie.  An  hour 
or  two  later  Hamset  returned  without  anything;  but 
a  little  later  Jimmie  came  in  with  a  broad  grin  on 
his  face,  his  clothes  in  tatters.  He  was  soaked  to  the 
skin,  but  in  a  high  state  of  delight,  for  he  had  killed  a 
deer  —  his  first.  He  was  quite  exhausted,  for  he  had 
carried  the  animal  quite  a  long  way  through  the  W'Oods 
down  to  the  beach,  where  he  had  left  it,  unable  to  bring 
it  farther.  Fannin  and  Charlie  at  once  went  off  to  get 
it ;  and  while  they  were  gone,  the  boy,  in  a  mixture  of 
Chinook,  English,  and  signs,  told  Hugh  and  Jack  the 
story  of  his  hunt.  He  had  gone  a  long  way  through 
the  forest,  but  at  last  had  seen  a  deer  feeding,  and 
crept  up  close  to  it.  It  had  looked  at  him.  He  had 
fired  twice  at  it,  the  last  time  striking  it  in  the  throat 
and  breaking  its  neck,  and  it  had  fallen  dead.  He 
ended  his  account  with  a  loud  shout  of  laughter  and 
the  words:  ''  Hai-asmozmtch  (big  deer),  me  kill." 
Later  in  the  day  he  confided  to  Fannin  the  information 
that  ''  the  hearts  of  his  friends  were  very  good  toward 
him  because  he  had  killed  a  deer  that  was  big  and 
fat." 


174        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

As  they  coasted  along  the  shore  that  day  they  saw  a 
blue  grouse  sitting  on  a  rock,  on  a  small  island,  and 
landing  found  about  a  dozen  full-grown  birds.  The 
shot-gun  accounted  for  four  or  five  of  them,  and  Jack 
and  Hugh  shot  the  heads  off  several  more  that  took 
refuge  in  the  branches  of  the  trees.  Food,  therefore, 
was  now  plenty. 

As  they  were  passing  near  the  mouth  of  the  Hothani 
Sound,  and  close  to  the  shores  of  Hardy  and  Nelson 
Islands,  the  remarkable  Twin  Falls,  just  within  the  en- 
trance of  the  Sound,  came  into  view.  They  seemed  so 
attractive  that  it  was  decided  to  visit  them  on  their 
return  trip.  On  rounding  a  point  on  the  shore  of 
Hardy  Island,  two  moving  objects,  on  a  low  seaweed- 
covered  point  half  a  mile  ahead,  were  seen.  For  a  time 
they  puzzled  Indians  and  white  men  alike.  They 
were  not  deer,  for  they  were  too  low ;  nor  bears,  for 
the  color  was  not  right ;  nor  seals,  for  they  had  neither 
the  shape  nor  the  movements  of  those  animals.  So 
there  was  much  guessing  at  random  as  to  what  they 
were.  But  at  last,  when  the  canoe  had  come  close 
enough  for  the  creatures  to  be  seen  distinctly,  white 
men  and  Indians  made  them  out  to  be  eagles.  They 
were  young  birds,  so  young  and  inexperienced,  in  fact, 
that  they  permitted  the  canoe  to  approach  within  fifty 
feet  of  them  without  moving  from  their  places,  and 
when  at  last  they  did  consent  to  disturb  themselves 
the  canoe  was  within  thirty  or  forty  feet  of  them. 
Then  one  flew  to  a  pine,  a  few  yards  distant,  while  the 
other  hopped  on  a  log  six  feet  from  where  he  had  been 
sitting,  and  surveyed  the  canoe  with  the  utmost  indif- 
ference. Though  full-grown  they  had  probably  never 
seen  white  men  before.  They  had  been  feeding  on 
a  dog-fish,  which  lay  there  among  the  seaweed,  still 
breathing  and  writhing,  although  the  birds  had  torn 
a  great  hole  in  its  side. 

That  night  camp  was  made  on  Nelson  Island.     It 


THE   WORK   THAT    GLACIERS    DO       175 

rained  very  hard,  and  everything  became  wet.  There 
was  a  fine  chance  for  grumbhng  at  the  weather  if  they 
wanted  to,  but  these  were  old  travellers,  and  ac- 
customed to  meet  with  philosophy  whatever  fortune 
sent  them  in  the  way  of  weather  and  discomfort.  Be- 
sides this,  they  were  getting  used  to  rain,  for  some  had 
fallen  every  day  since  they  had  reached  the  head  of 
Bute  Inlet.  The  next  day  they  would  enter  Jervis 
Inlet,  of  whose  beauties  they  had  heard  so  much  that 
they  thought  it  would  be  almost  as  wonderful  as  Bute. 
A  study  of  the  Admiralty  charts,  with  which  Fannin 
had  provided  himself  before  leaving  Victoria,  and 
which  were  carried  in  a  tin  case  in  the  provision  chest, 
seemed  to  confirm  all  that  they  had  heard  of  Jervis; 
and  it  was  with  anxious  hearts  and  earnest  hopes  for 
good  weather  that  the  party  w^ent  to  bed  that  night. 

They  were  not  disappointed.  The  day  dawned  fair, 
an  early  start  was  made,  and  they  paddled  toward  the 
mouth  of  the  Inlet.  For  some  miles  a  long  point  ahead 
of  them  cut  off  the  view  of  the  Inlet,  and  when  they 
passed  this  point,  its  beauties  were  revealed  as  a  real 
surprise  to  them.  Directly  before  them,  but  on  the 
farther  side  of  the  Inlet,  rose  a  superb  snow  cone,  five 
thousand  feet  in  height ;  and  beyond  that  could  be  seen 
a  broad  bay  leading  up  to  a  narrow  dark  green  forest, 
closely  shut  in  between  two  ranges  of  mountains,  far 
down  whose  sides  extended  the  white  mantle  which 
in  this  region  crowns  every  considerable  height. 

A  little  farther  on  the  travellers  found  themselves 
directly  in  front  of  Marlborough  Heights,  mountains 
w^hich,  even  in  this  land  of  grand  scenery  are  un- 
equalled for  majesty.  Two  of  them  rise  almost  sheer 
from  the  water's  edge  to  a  height  of  over  sixty-one 
hundred  feet,  and  the  third,  standing  a  little  farther 
back  from  the  water,  lifts  its  great  head  between  the 
two,  as  if  looking  over  its  brothers'  shoulders.  The 
summits  of  these  do  not  run  up  into  peaks  and  needles 


176        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

of  rock,  but  appear  rather  like  blunt  cones  of  solid 
granite.  There  is  a  little  timber  on  the  slopes,  but 
except  for  this  nothing  is  to  be  seen  but  the  black 
rocks.  Scarcely  a  patch  of  snow  was  visible,  for  the 
unceasing  winds,  which  blow  on  these  lofty  peaks, 
sweep  the  snow  into  the  valleys  and  lower  lands  before 
it  can  lay  hold  on  the  smooth  bare  granite.  Some  of 
these  peaks  rise  in  unbroken  cliffs.  Other  heights 
come  down  to  the  water's  edge  in  a  long  series  of 
steps,  many  of  them  showing  the  rounded,  smoothing 
action  of  the  great  glacier  which  passed  over  them  as 
it  cut  out  this  canon. 

Down  near  the  water,  tall  grass  and  underbrush 
grow  among  these  dark,  rounded,  naked  rocks,  which 
look  like  the  backs  of  so  many  great  elephants  sleeping 
in  a  jungle,  whose  growth  is  not  tall  enough  to  hide 
them. 

Though  for  the  most  part  narrow,  —  not  more  than 
a  mile  in  width,  —  the  Inlet  often  broadens  out  and 
has  a  lake-like  appearance,  especially  where  side  valleys 
come  down  into  it,  showing  the  course  of  tributary 
streams  of  the  old  glacier. 

At  Deserted  Bay,  a  little  river  enters  the  Inlet, 
and  at  its  mouth  is  a  wide  stretch  of  meadow  land. 

Long  before  they  reached  this  point  something  white 
could  be  seen  on  the  shore.  Hugh  and  Jack  were  curi- 
ous to  know  what  it  could  be,  and  appealed  to  Fannin 
and  the  Indians  for  information.  No  one  could  tell,  and 
the  glasses  only  made  the  white  objects  appear  a  little 
larger.  Gradually,  however,  as  the  canoe  approached 
them,  it  was  seen  that  here  was  an  Indian  village  and 
a  burial  place,  and  that  the  white  objects  were  the 
white  cloth  coverings  of  the  crosses  and  the  houses 
of  the  dead.  There  seemed  to  be  no  one  at  the  village, 
and  the  canoe  did  not  stop,  but  kept  on  until  sunset, 
reaching  a  level,  grassy  piece  of  land  at  the  mouth  of 
a  mountain  torrent,  where  the  party  put  ashore  and 
camped. 


THE   WORK   THAT    GLACIERS    DO       177 

Evidently  this  was  a  favorite  camping-ground,  for 
there  were  found  here  the  remains  of  fires,  a  rude 
shanty  put  up  for  protection  against  the  weather,  many 
old  poles,  and  a  scaffold  erected  for  the  purpose  of 
drying  fish. 

Down  the  side  of  the  mountains  came  thundering 
the  large  stream  which  had  formed  the  little  flat  where 
they  camped,  and  which  was  more  than  a  brook  and 
rather  less  than  a  river. 

After  camp  had  been  made,  Hugh,  Fannin,  and  Jack 
climbed  the  mountain  for  a  few  hundred  feet  along 
the  stream's  course,  and  they  were  greatly  impressed 
by  the  tumultuous  rush  with  which  it  tumbled  from 
pool  to  pool  in  tempestuous  descent.  The  hillside  was 
so  steep  that  climbing  was  done  by  pulling  one's  self 
up  by  the  trees,  underbrush,  and  rocks.  The  ever 
rising  spray  of  the  torrent  had  moistened  the  earth, 
grass,  and  moss,  making  the  ground  s@  slippery  that 
it  was  often  difficult  to  keep  one's  footing.  The  stream 
made  leaps  of  twenty,  forty,  and  fifty  feet  at  a  time, 
falling  with  a  dull  sullen  roar  into  the  deep  rocky 
basins  which  it  had  dug  out  for  itself,  making  the  milk- 
white  foam  which  they  contained  surge  and  whirl  over 
and  over  in  unceasing  motion.  The  constant  moisture 
of  the  stream  nourished  a  rank  growth  of  vegetation. 
Rocks  and  fallen  tree  trunks  were  covered  by  a  thick 
growth  of  long,  pale  green  moss,  into  which  the  feet 
sank  ankle  deep,  and  from  which  water  could  be  wrung 
as  from  a  well-soaked  sponge.  In  the  crevices  of  the 
rocks  grew  bunches  of  tall  grasses,  sparkling  with 
drops  of  water,  as  though  there  had  been  a  rain  storm. 
Everywhere  there  were  tall  flower  stalks,  brilliant  with 
blossoms  of  yellow  or  blue.  Back  from  the  bed  of 
the  stream  grew  a  thick  tangle  of  undergrowth  and 
young  trees,  which  it  would  have  been  very  hard  to 
penetrate. 

Many  questions  suggested  themselves  to  Jack  during 


178        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

the  climb.  But  the  noise  of  the  fall  was  so  great  that 
it  was  impossible  to  hear  conversation,  and  it  was  not 
until  they  had  reached  camp  that  he  was  able  to  try 
to  inform  himself  in  regard  to  any  of  the  matters 
about  which  he  had  wished  to  ask. 

That  night  as  they  sat  around  the  fire  after  dinner, 
he  said  to  Fannin  and  Hugh :  ''  I  want  to  know  how 
these  big  arms  of  the  sea  came  to  be  formed.  Why 
is  it  that  every  little  way  here  we  find  an  immense 
canon  running  away  back  into  the  mountains,  and  the 
sea  ebbing  and  flowing  in  it?  Of  course  there's 
some  reason  for  it.  I  don't  understand  what  it  is,  but 
somebody  must  know." 

Hugh  smoked  in  silence  for  a  few  moments,  and 
then,  taking  his  pipe  from  his  mouth  and  clearing  his 
throat,  said :  "  Yes,  somebody  must  know,  of  course, 
and  I  expect  to  them  that  does  know,  it 's  mighty 
simple.  I  expect  likely  your  uncle,  Mr.  Sturgis,  knows 
about  all  these  things,  but  I  don't.  I've  got  an  idea 
from  what  I  've  heard  him  say,  and  from  what  I  've 
seen  up  in  the  northern  countries,  that  these  big  canons 
were  cut  out  by  glaciers,  —  these  big  masses  of  ice, 
very  heavy,  and  moving  along  all  the  time.  It 's  easy 
for  any  one  who  has  ever  been  around  a  glacier  to  see 
something  of  the  terrible  power  that  such  a  mass  of 
ice  has,  and  to  see  how  it  cuts  and  grinds  away  the 
surface  of  the  earth  and  rock  that  it  passes  over. 
You  've  heard,  and  I  've  heard  your  uncle  talk  about 
these  here  canons  on  the  coast  of  Norway,  that,  from 
his  tell,  seem  about  just  like  these  that  we  are  travelling 
up  and  down,  except  that  maybe  these  are  bigger.  We 
can  all  understand  that  if  a  very  big  glacier  got  running 
in  a  certain  course,  and  kept  running  for  thousands 
and  thousands  of  years,  it  would  cut  out  in  the  surface 
of  the  mountains  a  deep,  narrow  groove  that  might 
be  like  these  canons;  but  as  I  say,  I  don't  know  any- 
thing about  them.  I  'm  just  guessing  from  what  I  've 
heard  say." 


THE    WORK    THAT    GLACIERS    DO       179 

**  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  I  don't  know  much  about 
them  either,  but  judging  from  what  I  've  read,  you  're 
about  on  the  right  track.  The  books  I  've  read  say 
that  there  was  a  time,  a  good  way  back,  when  the 
whole  of  the  northern  part  of  North  America  was  cov- 
ered with  a  big  sheet  of  ice,  thousands  of  feet  thick. 
That  is  what  was  called  the  glacial  period,  or  ice  age. 
This  ice,  if  I  understand  it,  was  thicker  towards  the 
north  —  where  it  was  piling  up  all  the  time,  and  get- 
ting still  thicker  —  than  it  was  toward  the  south, 
where  the  climate  w^as  milder,  and  where  it  was  melting 
all  the  time.  Now,  although  ice  seems  to  us,  who  per- 
haps don't  know  much  about  it,  about  as  firm  and 
solid  as  anything  can  be,  yet  really  it  is  not  so.  Learned 
men  have  made  lots  of  experiments,  which  show  that  ice 
will  change  its  form;  and  we  all  know  that  these 
glaciers  that  we  see  here  are  moving  all  the  time,  and, 
what 's  more,  that  they  are  moving  faster  in  the  middle 
than  they  are  at  the  sides,  where  they  rub  against  the 
mountains;  in  other  words,  where  there  is  friction. 
That  shows  that  ice  is  plastic,  somewhat  we  '11  say  like 
molasses  in  January.  It  will  flow,  but  it  flows  very 
slowly,  and  to  make  it  flow  at  all  the  pressure 
on  it  may  have  to  be  very  great.  In  other  words, 
there  's  got  to  be  a  great  force  behind  it,  pushing  it. 
Now  the  books  say,  that  in  the  time  of  the  ice  age  the 
sheet  of  ice  that  covered  the  country,  being  thick  to- 
ward the  north  and  thin  toward  the  south,  was  con- 
stantly moving  slowly  from  north  to  south  ;  and  I  think 
the  men  that  have  studied  them  have  seen  in  the 
scratches  that  the  ice  sheet  made  on  the  rocks  and  in  the 
gravel  and  boulders  and  so  on,  that  it  carried  along 
with  it  from  one  place  to  another  strong  evidence  of 
this  motion.  Then,  after  a  while,  as  I  understand  it, 
the  weather  got  warmer,  the  ice  sheet  kept  melting 
faster  and  faster  from  the  south  toward  the  north, 
and  gradually  the  land  got  bare  of  ice.    Of  course  it 


i8o        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

melted  first  on  the  lower  lands,  and  last  on  the  hills 
and  mountains  and  peaks.  It  melted  very  slowly,  and 
as  it  melted  it  left  behind  it  on  the  mountains  and  in 
sheltered  places  where  it  was  coldest,  masses  of  ice 
which  continued  to  flow  along  as  ice  streams,  long 
after  the  general  ice  sheet  had  disappeared.  These 
masses  that  were  left  did  not  move  from  north  to 
south,  because  they  were  no  longer  being  pushed  in  that 
direction.     They  just  flowed  down  hill. 

"  If  I  understand  it,  there  is  only  one  place  now  in 
the  world,  in  the  North  at  least,  that  is  covered  by  an 
ice  sheet,  and  that 's  Greenland.  But  in  the  Northern 
mountains  there  are  still  a  lot  of  remnants  of  the  old 
ice  sheet,  and  it  is  these  remnants,  I  think,  only  thou- 
sands of  times  more  powerful  than  they  are  now,  that 
cut  out  these  inlets  that  we  are  travelling  over. 

"  We  think  that  these  are  mighty  deep,  and  so  they 
are;  but  maybe  you  don't  recognize  how  much  depth 
there  is  below  the  water.  Sometimes  these  inlets  are 
sixty  or  eighty  fathoms  deep.  There 's  from  three 
hundred  and  fifty  to  five  hundred  feet  from  the  surface 
of  the  water  to  the  bottom  of  the  Inlet,  and  nobody 
knows  how  deep  the  mud  may  be  there  before  you 
could  reach  the  bed-rock  below  it." 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  know  this,"  said  Jack.  "  Most 
of  it  I  have  heard  before;  it  sounds  pretty  familiar, 
but  I  never  before  heard  it  in  such  a  connected  way, 
and  I  never  understood  just  what  it  meant.  It  seems 
to  me  pretty  clear  now,  all  except  one  point  that  I 
want  to  ask  about.  We  all  know  how  easily  ice  slips 
down  over  any  surface,  and  there  does  n't  seem  to  be 
much  friction.  Now  I  can't  ^understand  just  how  the 
ice  should  cut  out  such  a  groove  in  the  earth  in  any 
length  of  time,  however  long  it  might  be.  How  is 
that?     Can  you  explain  it  to  me?" 

For  a  little  while  Fannin  sat  thoughtfully  staring 
into  the  fire,  and  then  he  replied :    "  Well,  I  think  I 


THE    WORK   THAT    GLACIERS    DO       i8i 

understand  it  myself,  and  I  think  I  can  make  you  un- 
derstand it  as  I  do,  but  of  course  I  do  not  guarantee 
that  I  am  right  about  it.     I  only  give  you  my  idea. 

*'  Suppose  you  take  a  piece  of  pine  board  and  tilt  it 
up  and  brace  it  to  represent  the  side  of  your  mountain. 
Then  suppose  you  take  a  strip  of  paper,  two  inches 
wide,  and  we  '11  say  of  an  indefinite  length,  because 
you  've  got  to  draw  that  paper  down  over  that  board, 
for  say  a  thousand  years,  and  never  let  it  stop;  for 
the  glacier  never  stops,  it  is  always  being  renewed  at 
its  head,  and  keeps  on  pushing  down  the  mountain 
sides,  just  as  a  brook  does  that  starts  from  a  spring 
on  a  hilltop.  Now,  you  might  draw  that  paper  down 
over  that  board  for  a  thousand  years,  if  you  lived 
so  long,  and  you  would  never  wear  much  of  a  groove 
in  the  board.  If  you  did  wear  one,  it  would  be  awful 
slow  work.  But  now  suppose,  in  the  place  of  that 
strip  of  paper,  you  have  a  strip  of  sandpaper,  just  as 
wide,  and  just  as  long,  and  keep  drawing  that  down 
for  a  thousand  years,  you  can  see  that  long  before  your 
thousand  years  were  over  you  would  have  cut  a  big 
groove  in  the  board,  and  in  time,  of  course,  you  'd  cut 
through  the  board.  That,  according  to  my  understand- 
ing, is  the  way  that  the  glacier  acts.  It  is  n't  the  ice 
by  itself  that  cuts  out  the  groove,  but  the  ice  is  con- 
stantly picking  up  and  rolling  along  under  it  fragments 
of  rock  and  pebbles,  and  sand,  and  grinding  these 
hard  substances  against  the  hard  rock  that  makes  up 
the  faces  of  the  mountains.  So  it  is  sawing  down  into 
the  mountains  all  the  time. 

"  Did  you  ever  go  into  a  marble  yard  and  see  the 
people  cutting  the  stone  into  blocks  there  ?  They  have 
metal  saws  that  go  backward  and  forward,  sawing  on 
the  marble,  but  if  they  had  nothing  but  the  metal 
to  saw  with,  they  would  wear  out  their  saws  before 
they  would  saw  the  marble,  so  they  put  fine  sand  be- 
tween the  saw  and  the  marble ;   and  tliat  sand,  moving 


i82        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

backward  and  forward,  cuts  through  the  marble  pretty 
nearly  as  a  knife  cuts  through  cheese.  We  have  seen 
here,  and  you  have  very  likely  seen  in  other  places, 
how  the  water  that  comes  out  from  under  a  glacier 
is  white  or  gray.  That  is,  it  is  full  of  something  held 
in  suspension  in  the  water,  and  that  something  is  the 
fine  powder  which  is  ground  off  the  pebbles  and  rocks 
that  are  being  pushed  along  under  the  glacier,  and 
ground  off  the  face  of  the  mountains  too.  It 's  what 
you  might  call  flour  of  rock.  That 's  my  idea  of  how 
the  glaciers  cut  these  deep  grooves.  We  've  seen,  as 
we  did  just  below  here,  lots  of  great,  rounded  rocks, 
on  the  shore,  and  we  've  seen  in  a  number  of  places,  big 
scratches  in  the  rocks ;  and  these  scratches,  I  suppose, 
were  made  by  some  big  chunk  of  rock,  pushed  along 
under  the  mass  of  the  ice  and  scratching  against  the 
face  of  the  mountains,  gouging  out  quite  a  furrow  in 
the  rock.  I  don't  know  that  I  can  explain  it  any 
plainer  than  that.    Of  course,  it 's  a  big  subject." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  ''  I  don't  see  how  anything  could 
be  plainer  than  that ;  and  it  seems  to  me  that  I  under- 
stand just  exactly  how  the  thing  is  done.  I  suppose 
sometime,  when  I  go  to  college,  I  will  get  a  chance  to 
find  out  all  about  these  things;  and  when  I  do,  it  will 
be  a  mighty  good  help  to  me  to  have  seen  these  things 
here  and  to  have  had  your  explanation.  I  could  n't 
think  how  the  ice,  by  itself,  could  cut  out  these  grooves, 
and  yet  I  believe  I  have  had  it  all  explained  to  me 
before;  but  never,  I  think,  by  such  clear  examples. 
That  explanation  of  the  sandpaper  makes  it  mighty 
clear." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  we  saw  at  the  head  of  Bute 
Inlet  a  lot  of  these  glaciers.  Of  course  they  were  high 
up  on  the  mountains,  and  mighty  small  compared  with 
the  ice  that  must  have  cut  out  these  inlets ;  still,  I  be- 
lieve if  we  could  get  up  close  to  them  we  would  see 
pretty  clearly  how  they  work,  and  you  'd  understand  the 


THE    WORK    THAT    GLACIERS    DO       183 

whole  thing  a  great  deal  better  than  you  do  now.  If 
I  were  you,  I  'd  be  on  the  watch  for  things  that  have 
a  bearing  on  this  work  of  the  ice,  and  if  you  keep  the 
thing  in  your  mind,  it  will  be  likely  to  work  itself 
out  very  clearly." 

"  We'll,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  think  I  begin  to  savvy  this 
glacier  business,  a  little,  myself.  Fannin  has,  sure, 
given  us  a  pretty  good  explanation." 

For  a  number  of  days.  Jack,  Hugh,  and  Fannin  had 
been  studying  the  charts  with  much  interest,  speculat- 
ing about  Princess  Louise  Inlet,  a  tiny  branch,  only 
four  or  five  miles  long,  which  puts  off  from  the  head 
of  Jervis  Inlet.  On  the  chart,  its  entrance  appeared  a 
mere  thread,  but  within  it  widened  and  seemed  to  be 
several  miles  in  length,  though  not  very  wide,  while  at 
its  head  were  one  or  two  quite  high  mountains.  This 
inlet  they  reached  the  next  day. 

It  was  yet  early  morning  when,  coasting  along  close 
to  the  shore,  they  saw  a  narrow  break  in  the  precipice 
under  which  they  were  passing.  As  they  advanced, 
they  saw^  that  it  stretched  some  distance  inland.  This, 
they  believed,  must  be  the  entrance  to  Princess  Louise 
Inlet,  but  no  one  knew.  It  was  almost  low  water  and 
a  current  of  considerable  force  was  drawing  out  of 
the  narrow  channel.  The  men  landed,  and  Fannin 
and  Hamset  walked  a  little  way  up  the  beach  to  see 
w^hether  the  passage  was  practicable  or  not.  They  were 
soon  turned  back,  by  coming  up  against  the  vertical 
walls  of  the  precipice,  but  the  Indians  declared  that  if 
they  started  now  they  could  go  through. 

Re-embarking,  the  canoe  was  pushed  up  into  the 
narrow  channel,  where  now  the  water  seemed  to  be 
almost  still,  and  a  few  strokes  of  the  paddle  sent  the 
vessel  in  between  high  walls,  which  could  almost  be 
touched  by  an  outstretched  paddle  from  either  side  of 
the  boat.  Out  in  the  main  Inlet  the  sun  had  been  warm 
and  bright,  but  here  the  water,  shadowed  by  the  tall 


i84        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

rocks  which  rose  on  either  side,  was  overhung  by  a 
thick,  cold  mist.  Although  passing  along  close  under 
the  walls  of  the  Inlet  on  either  side,  they  could  only 
occasionally  see  them,  and  they  groped  along  aimlessly, 
not  knowing  where  they  were  going.  The  sun  does 
not  penetrate  this  narrow  gorge  until  it  has  risen  high 
in  the  heavens,  and  in  the  darkness  and  utter  silence  of 
their  surroundings,  the  place  seemed  very  solemn.  The 
strangeness  of  the  situation  awed  them  all,  and  hardly 
a  word  was  spoken,  or  if  one  ventured  a  remark  he 
spoke  in  a  low  tone. 

Hamset  in  the  bow  was  keenly  on  the  lookout  for 
rocks  or  obstructions  of  any  kind,  but  the  chart  had 
said  "  Deep  water,"  for  the  Inlet,  and  they  paddled 
on  with  confidence.  As  they  advanced  the  mist  grew 
thicker  and  the  canoe's  bow  could  not  be  seen  from 
the  stern.  No  sound  was  heard  save  the  regular  dip 
of  the  paddles,  and  each  one  of  the  crew  was  wrought 
into  a  high  state  of  expectancy,  not  knowing  what 
the  next  moment  might  bring  forth. 

An  hour  after  their  entrance  into  this  twilight,  the 
mist  before  them  grew  a  little  lighter,  and  in  a  few 
moments,  without  any  warning,  the  dark  curtain  was 
lifted  from  the  water  and  rolled  away  up  the  mountain 
sides.  The  mist  rose  slowly,  and  there  appeared,  first 
the  trees  on  the  beach,  then,  immediately  back  of  them, 
the  piled-up  rocks  which  had  fallen  from  the  precipice ; 
and  lastly,  as  the  clouds  and  vapor  rose  higher  and 
higher,  the  black  vertical  cliffs  and  snow-clad  peaks  of 
the  mountains. 

In  a  few  moments  not  a  cloud  or  a  trace  of  mist 
was  to  be  seen,  except  in  one  long,  narrow  ravine  where 
it  still  remained,  shut  in  by  high  walls  of  granite. 

The  Indians  continued  the  regular  movements  of 
their  paddles,  but  those  of  the  white  men  were  idle, 
and  for  some  little  time  not  a  word  was  spoken.  Be- 
fore them  was  a  basin,  which  they  were  now  entering, 


THE    WORK    THAT    GLACIERS    DO       185 

less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width.  All  about  them 
was  an  unbroken  line  of  snow  —  here  close  at  hand, 
there  miles  away  —  patched  toward  its  lower  border 
with  occasional  masses  of  green  or  gray.  Beneath  the 
edge  of  the  snow  line  was  the  sombre  gray  of  the 
mountain  side,  dark  and  forbidding.  Still  farther 
down  the  slope  scanty  and  ill-nourished  timber  grew 
in  scattering  clumps  or  single  trees,  down  to  the  verge 
of  the  precipices  that  overhung  the  water's  edge. 
To  the  south  and  east  the  hills  rose  sharply  and  contin- 
uously, forming  an  unbroken  wall  until  the  snow  level 
was  reached;  but  toward  the  northeast  this  w^all  did 
not  exist,  and  a  wide  but  steep  valley,  the  ancient  bed 
of  a  tremendous  glacier,  stretched  away  for  miles 
toward  the  snowy  heights  of  the  interior.  The  w^ater 
before  them  seemed  like  a  beautiful  lake  lying  among 
the  mountain  peaks.  In  its  unruffled  surface  each 
detail  of  the  walls  of  rock  that  shut  it  in  on  every  hand 
was  mirrored  with  faithful  accuracy. 

Down  the  great  valley  which  opened  to  the  north- 
east, among,  over,  and  under  enormous  masses  of  rock, 
whose  harsh  and  rugged  outlines  were  softened  by  no 
appearance  of  verdure,  a  large  river,  the  course  of 
which  could  be  traced  far  back  toward  the  heights, 
poured,  in  a  series  of  white  falls.  They  could  watch  it 
until  it  became  no  more  than  a  delicate  white  thread, 
and  at  last  it  could  not  be  distinguished  from  the  snow- 
drifts that  lay  in  the  ravine  near  its  source. 

Beyond  this  valley,  to  the  north,  the  rocks  again 
became  steep  with  overhanging  precipices  rising  from 
the  water's  edge.  About  them  great  snow  fields 
stretched  away  toward  Mount  Albert,  showing  here 
and  there,  by  their  broken  white  or  sky-blue  color  some 
ice  river  that  ploughed  its  way  down  the  slope. 

It  took  the  white  men  some  time  to  take  in  all  the 
Inlet's  details,  and  to  become  accustomed  to  their  tre- 
mendous surroundings.    At  last  Hugh  turned  to  Jack, 


1 86        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

and  said :  "  Son,  did  you  ever  imagine  a  place  like 
this?" 

"  No,"  said  Jack,  ''  I  never  had  a  notion  that  in  all 
the  world  there  was  anything  like  this,  —  so  grand  and 
so  beautiful.  It  makes  one  feel  as  if  he  dare  not  speak 
aloud.     It  comes  pretty  near  like  being  in  church." 

"  Right  you  are,"  said  Hugh.  "  I  don't  believe  I 
ever  felt  so  solemn  in  my  whole  life.  Did  you  ever  see 
such  rocks,  or  such  snow,  or  such  a  river  as  that  one 
over  there?  Did  you  ever  see  anything  that  seemed 
to  you  as  big  as  this  does?  I  thought  I  had  been  in 
sightly  places,  and  seen  high  mountains,  but  this  beats 
them  all." 

"  It 's  a  wonderful  sight,"  said  Fannin,  from  the 
bow.  "  I  've  lived  twenty  years  in  British  Columbia, 
but  this  beats  anything  I  've  ever  seen." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh.  "  It 's  something  that  you  can't 
talk  about  much,  in  fact.  A  man  is  poor  for  words 
here." 

"  And  just  think,"  said  Jack,  "  how  cold  and  dark 
it  was  when  we  started  in,  and  then  how  suddenly  the 
light  and  beauty  of  everything  came  to  us." 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  but  that 's  not  so  surprising. 
You  see  this  inlet  is  so  narrow  and  shut  in  on  every  side 
by  high  mountains,  that  the  air  here  does  not  feel  the 
sun  until  near  midday.  The  temperature  of  this  place 
must  be  a  good  deal  lower  than  that  of  its  surround- 
ings ;  but  just  as  soon  as  the  air  is  warmed  up  it  rises 
and  carries  the  mist  away  Vv^ith  it." 

*'  Oh,  Hugh,"  said  Jack,  *'  look  at  these  rocks  here, 
where  the  sun  strikes  them.  Don't  they  look  as  if 
they  were  painted  ?  See  that  patch  of  yellow  there  — 
just  about  the  color  of  a  canary  bird.  Part  of  that  is 
reflection  from  the  water,  I  guess;  and  I  suppose  it 
must  be  some  moss  growing  on  the  rock  that  gives 
that  rich  color.  Then  there  is  a  red  brown,  that  looks 
like  iron  rust,     Sometimes  it  is  red,  and  sometimes  it 


THE   WORK   THAT    GLACIERS   DO       187 

is  yellow,  and  sometimes  it  is  brown,  and  again  it  is 
red.  And  then,  see  the  flowers  and  plants  up  there! 
There  's  a  fern  growing  from  a  crack  in  the  rock,  and 
there  are  some  mosses,  some  of  them  brown,  some  gold- 
color,  and  some  bright  green.  There  's  a  red  flower ! 
Look  at  that  cluster  of  hare-bells !  What  a  contrast 
all  that  brilliant  light  and  color  is  to  the  white  and  the 
gray  of  those  outstanding  mountains !  " 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin*  "  I  suppose  we  ought  to  be 
moving,  for  we  should  paddle  up  to  the  head  and  get 
back  to  the  Inlet  in  time  to  go  out  with  the  ebb.  The 
Indians  say  that  at  half  tide  the  water  runs  so  swiftly 
in  that  narrow  channel  that  it  is  dangerous." 

"  Come  on,  then,"  said  Hugh.  "  I  hate  to  think  of 
anything  but  this  show  that  is  before  us;  and  I  'd  like 
mighty  well  to  camp  here  for  one  night,  but  I  suppose 
we  have  n't  got  the  time." 

*'  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  we  Ve  got  to  think  of  what  is 
coming  to-morrow,  of  course;  but  I  do  hate  to  leave 
this  place." 

They  dipped  their  paddles  into  the  water,  and  the 
canoe  moved  swiftly  over  its  glassy  surface.  As  they 
paddled  on,  Jack  suddenly  called :  "  There  's  a  seal, 
the  first  living  thing  I  've  seen  in  here!  "  From  time 
to  time  the  seal  showed  his  smooth  round  head  above 
the  water,  not  far  from  the  canoe. 

A  few  moments  later  Hugh  called  out :  "  There  's 
a  brood  of  ducks  in  there,  near  the  shore!  " 

"Where  are  they?"  asked  Jack;  "I  don't  see 
them." 

"  There,"  said  Hugh,  "  close  into  the  shore  you  can 
see  them  or  their  shadows,  though  they  are  a  good 
deal  blurred  and  made  indistinct  by  the  reflection  of 
the  trees  above  them." 

'*  Yes,"  said  Jack,  ''  there  seems  to  be  mighty  little 
life  visible  here.  Down  toward  the  mouth  of  the 
Inlet  I  have  once  or  twice  seen  a  gull,  but  beyond 


i88        JACK   THE   YOUNG    CANOEMAN 

these  things  and  the  starfish,  dinging  to  the  rocks, 
there  's  mighty  httle  that  speaks  of  hfe." 

Near  the  head  of  the  Inlet  Fannin  got  out  the  longest 
fishing  lines  that  they  had,  and,  tying  a  few  rifle  car- 
tridges to  it,  let  it  down  over  the  side  of  the  canoe, 
trying  to  find  the  bottom,  but  he  was  unable  to  reach  it. 

On  the  way  back  toward  the  mouth  of  the  inlet 
they  paddled  along  close  to  the  shore,  in  many  places 
under  the  cliffs  which  overhung  the  watier.  Here  it 
was  possible  to  examine  them  closely  and  to  study 
their  details,  and  Jack  was  astonished  to  see  how  much 
vegetation  they  supported  and  haw  varied  was  the  life 
that  they  exhibited.  Everywhere  near  the  water  the 
granite  was  patched  with  lichens  of  different  kinds  and 
different  colors,  giving  a  brilliant  effect  to  the  rocks. 
Near  the  mouth  of  the  inlet  they  landed  on  a  low 
point  of  shore  that  ran  out,  and  stood  there  for  a  little 
while,  taking  a  farewell  look  at  the  narrow  fiord.  It 
was  an  impressive  sight,  and  with  full  hearts  the  white 
men  turned  their  backs  on  the  wonders  they  had  seen 
and  took  their  way  back  out  into  the  broad  channel  of 
Jervis  Inlet. 


CHAPTER    XVI 
A  mother's  courage 

As  they  turned  north  again  and  paddled  on  up  the 
inlet  the  talk  was  naturally  of  the  wonders  that  they 
had  just  left. 

"  Surely,"  said  Jack,  "  this  is  the  most  wonderful 
place  that  I  have  ever  seen." 

''  Yes,  indeed,"  said  Hugh,  "  it  beats  all  the  countries 
that  my  eyes  have  ever  rested  on,  and  I  never  expect 
to  see  anything  so  wonderful  again." 

''  It  was  beautiful,"  said  Fannin,  ''  and  how  cold  and 
gloomy  it  was  one  moment  and  how  bright  and  beau- 
tiful the  next." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  and  yet  when  it  was  brightest 
and  most  beautiful  it  seemed  cold  all  the  time.  It 
reminded  me  of  what  I  've  read  about  the  Arctic 
regions.  There  was  not  a  thing  but  snow  and  ice  and 
just  a  few  straggling  stunted  trees.  I  remember  read- 
ing somewhere  about  a  point  down  at  the  other  end  of 
South  America  where  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen  but 
rocks  and  a  little  timber  and  snow  and  icebergs.  That 
is  the  way  Princess  Louise  seemed  to  me,  but  I  do 
wish  that  we  had  had  time  to  land  and  follow  up  that 
big  river  toward  those  heights." 

''  That  would  have  been  a  nice  trip,"  said  Fannin ; 
''  but  I  guess  it  would  have  been  an  awful  hard  one. 
It  looked  to  me  as  if  those  rocks  were  big  and  hard  to 
climb  among.  We  'd  have  had  to  carry  our  beds  and 
our  grub  on  our  backs,  and  it  might  have  taken  us  a 
long  time  to  get  up  even  to  the  foot  of  that  big  peak 
that  stood  up  so  high." 


190        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

"  Yet,  I  suppose  there  must  be  lots  of  life  up  there," 
said  Jack ;  ''  birds  and  animals,  and  of  course  if  there 
are  birds  and  animals  there  must  be  vegetation  to 
support  them." 

"  Sure,"  said  Fannin.  "  I  don't  doubt  but  that  there 
are  goats  and  deer  and  ptarmigan,  probably  bears,  and 
possibly  other  animals.  Of  course  the  sheep  don't  get 
down  so  close  to  the  salt  water,  at  least  I  have  never 
seen  them  there.  I  don't  doubt,  though,  but  there  's 
plenty  of  life  up  there." 

"  Anyhow,"  said  Jack,  "  it  looks  as  if  the  country 
had  not  changed  a  bit  since  the  glacier  came  pouring 
down  through  those  valleys  and  was  working  its  way 
toward  the  salt  water." 

*'  I  don't  believe  it  has,"  said  Fannin,  "  except  that 
trees  have  grown;  perhaps  some  little  soil  has  been 
made  here  and  there ;  but  except  for  that  I  suppose  the 
country  is  unchanged." 

For  a  while  they  paddled  on  in  silence,  and  then, 
as  they  rounded  a  point,  came  a  call  from  Fannin: 
"  Hello!   there  's  an  Indian  village." 

Three  or  four  houses  stood  on  the  bank  but  a  short 
distance  back  from  the  water's  edge,  and  near  them 
were  a  few  people  busy  at  different  tasks.  When  they 
saw  the  canoe  they  all  stopped  and  began  to  stare  at  it. 
Down  on  the  beach,  just  above  the  water's  edge  was 
an  old  man  working  over  a  canoe.  Fannin  said : 
''  Let 's  push  in  there  and  see  if  we  can  buy  some 
potatoes  or  other  food."  They  pushed  up  to  the  beach, 
and  when  close  to  it  saluted  the  old  man  with  the 
usual  phrase,  "  Kla-haw-ya  tilliciim  ?"  (How  are  you, 
friend?)  The  man  gave  an  answering  shout,  and 
Hamset  turned  to  them  and  said :  ''  I  guess  he  can't 
talk  with  us  " ;  which  was  Fannin's  translation  into 
English. 

They  landed  and  found  that  the  man  was  mending 
some  cracks  in  his  canoe  by  fastening  over  them  strips 


,'   ■>  ^1     '     '''->'' 


A    MOTHER'S    COURAGE  191 

of  tin,  seemingly  cut  from  an  old  tin  can,  by  means  of 
tacks  and  a  primitive  stone  hammer  —  a  cylinder  of 
stone  with  enlarged  flat  ends. 

Hamset  began  to  talk  with  him  in  Chinook,  but  the 
man  apparently  did  not  understand,  and  replied  by  a 
speech  in  some  language  which  Hamset  could  not  com- 
prehend. There  was  a  long  talk,  in  which  each  of  the 
two  Indians  made  a  speech,  which  was  not  understood 
by  the  other.  Fannin  tried  the  old  man  in  Canadian 
French,  and  Hugh  made  signs  to  him,  but  there  seemed 
to  be  no  common  ground  of  communication.  After 
each  remark  by  the  old  man,  Hamset  would  hopelessly 
reply  after  hearing  him  through :  "  Wake  nika  kiim- 
tiix-mika  zvahzmh  "  (I  don't  understand  your  talk). 

Within  a  rude  fence  near  one  of  the  houses  was  what 
looked  like  a  garden,  in  which  were  growing  plants 
that  resembled  potatoes.  Presently  a  bright  thought 
came  to  Jack,  and  he  walked  down  to  the  canoe,  took 
from  the  provision  box  a  potato  and  handed  it  to  the 
old  man.  It  was  amusing  to  them  all  to  see  the  ex- 
pression of  perplexity  clear  away  from  the  old  Indian's 
face  and  understanding  and  satisfaction  appear.  He 
laughed  delightedly  and  shouted  to  the  women  at  the 
house,  and  a  little  later  two  of  them  came  down  carry- 
ing a  large  basket  of  potatoes  —  and  very  good  ones 
too.  These  were  put  into  the  canoe,  and  paid  for  by 
''  four  bits."  Then  at  Hugh's  suggestion  Jack  gave 
the  old  man  a  piece  of  tobacco.  They  wandered  up  to 
the  houses,  looked  into  them,  and  presently  returned 
to  the  neighborhood  of  the  canoe.  Leaning  against 
one  of  the  houses  was  a  two-pronged  salmon  spear, 
which  Jack  wanted  and  which  the  old  man  sold  him 
for  half  a  dollar.  Jack  thought  that  the  implement 
might  be  useful  a  little  later,  as  the  salmon  were  now 
beginning  to  run  into  the  fresh  water  streams  in  con- 
siderable numbers.  Hamset  said  that  these  Indians 
were  called  Hanehtsin.     Tie  declared  that  most  of  the 


192        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

people  must  be  away  fishing,  and  said  that  there  must 
be  many  of  them  who  could  speak  Chinook,  although 
this  man  could  not. 

Next  morning  as  they  were  eating  breakfast  a  canoe 
came  in  sight  from  the  direction  of  the  village,  and 
when  it  landed  the  paddlers  proved  to  be  their  friends 
of  the  night  before,  who  brought  them  some  more 
potatoes  and  several  salmon  just  from  the  water.  These 
having  been  duly  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five 
cents  each  —  for  a  twenty  pound  salmon  —  they 
brought  forth  from  the  canoe  a  large  basket  of  berries 
which  a  small  boy  who  was  with  them,  and  who  had 
some  knowledge  of  the  Chinook  jargon,  announced 
was  a  "  potlatch,"  or  gift  —  very  likely  in  return  for 
the  bit  of  tobacco  that  Jack  had  given  to  the  old  man 
the  night  before. 

A  little  later,  the  canoe  being  loaded,  the  party 
pushed  off  from  the  shore,  and,  leaving  the  Indians 
sitting  idly  in  their  canoes,  paddled  back  down  the 
inlet. 

"  What  I  can't  understand,  Mr.  Fannin,"  said  Jack, 
"  is  how  it  is  that  these  Indians  don't  understand  one 
another.  Of  course,  I  don't  suppose  that  all  the  differ- 
ent tribes  on  this  coast  speak  the  same  language,  any 
more  than  our  Indians  out  on  the  plains,  but  I  should 
suppose  that  there  would  be  some  common  way  of  talk- 
ing to  each  other,  just  as  the  plains  Indians  all  under- 
stand the  sign  language." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  you  'd  think  so,  of  course, 
but  that 's  one  of  the  queer  things  about  this  country. 
While  often  you  '11  find  a  great  many  villages  that 
speak  the  same  language,  and  while  you  '11  find  in 
most  of  the  villages  a  number  of  people  that  can  talk 
Chinook,  it 's  nevertheless  the  fact  that  stowed  away 
in  bays  and  inlets  all  along  this  coast  are  little  tribes 
that  speak  a  language  that  is  not  understood  by  any 
other  tribe.     I  have  talked  with  a  few  people  out  here 


A    MOTHER'S    COURAGE  193 

who  were  regular  Indian  '  sharps,'  and  who  had  been 
among  Indians  over  most  of  the  country,  and  they  say 
that  there  are  a  number  of  Indian  languages  spoken 
here  that  are  absolutely  different  from  each  other  and 
different  from  any  other  languages  in  North  America. 
This  is  a  mighty  queer  thing,  and  I  can't  understand 
it  at  all.  I  Ve  always  supposed  that  it  was  this  fact 
that  obliged  the  Indians  to  get  up  this  Chinook  jargon, 
which  is  a  kind  of  a  trade  talk,  used  all  up  and  down 
the  coast  and  a  good  way  inland,  too,  to  enable  these 
people  to  talk  among  themselves.  I  have  never  seen 
any  of  these  Indians  here  using  the  sign  language,  and 
you  can  see  for  yourself  that  this  old  chap  did  not 
understand  what  it  was  that  Hugh  w^as  trying  to  say 
to  him  with  his  hands.  They  do  say  that  this  Chinook 
jargon  was  gotten  up  before  the  white  men  came  here 
to  this  country,  and  you  can  see  how  necessary  it 
would  be  to  people  coming  in  contact  with  others  who 
spoke  a  language  different  from  their  own.  Now,  I 
suppose  that  in  the  old  times  there  used  to  be  con- 
siderable travel  along  this  coast,  north  and  south,  and 
considerable  intercourse  between  the  different  tribes  of 
Indians.  And  while  we  know  that  the  northern  In- 
dians could  not  talk  with  the  southern  ones,  yet  they 
visited  and  traded,  and  made  war  and  made  peace 
again.  It  must  have  been  necessary  for  them  to  under- 
stand each  other  in  some  way,  and  that 's  the  way  this 
jargon  came  to  be  invented.  Of  course,  it 's  changed 
a  lot,  I  fancy,  and  especially  since  the  white  people  got 
in  here." 

"  But  about  this  Indian  here,"  said  Hugh,  "  it  seems 
to  me  that  he  ought  to  be  able  to  understand  our 
Indians.  Their  villages  cannot  be  more  than  a  hundred 
miles  from  one  another,  and  to  an  Indian  a  hundred 
miles  is  nothing.  These  Ucletah  must  sometimes  come 
up  to  the  head  of  this  Inlet,  and  these  people  who  live 
up   here,   Hanehtsm,  —  don't   you   call   them,  —  must 

i3 


194        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

go  down  the  inlet  and  go  up  and  down  the  shore.  It 
would  seem  as  if  they  must  have  met  sometimes,  and 
as  if  they  would  have  some  common  speech." 

''  Yes,"  said  Fannin.  ''  They  ought  to,  but  I  don't 
believe  they  have.  Of  course  I  know  no  more  about 
them  than  you  do,  but  you  saw  the  experiments 
that  were  tried  upon  that  old  chap  that  we  've  just 
left." 

''  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  there  's  no  going  back  on  that. 
He  did  n't  understand,  no  matter  how  much  he  ought 
to  have  understood." 

''  Hugh,"  said  Jack,  "  did  you  count  the  number  of 
people  at  the  village?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  did :  three  women,  three 
children,  and  the  old  man." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  ''  did  you  count  the  dogs?  " 

"  No,"  said  Hugh ;  ''  I  reckon  I  forgot  to  count  the 
dogs.    There  were  a  lot  of  them,  I  know." 

''  Nineteen,"  said  Jack.  "  I  counted  them.  Three 
or  four  times  I  had  them  all  counted,  and  then  a  lot 
more  would  show  up.  There  w^ere  a  lot  lying  down 
sunning  themselves  when  I  got  there,  and  after  they 
had  got  up  and  come  round  to  threaten  us,  a  lot  more 
came  out  of  the  house.  This  nineteen  that  I  counted 
did  n't  include  the  pups.  I  looked  into  a  little  pen 
built  of  sticks,  near  one  of  the  houses,  and  there 
were  nine  puppies  in  there,  just  able  to  waddle,  and 
I  saw  some  others  not  much  older  wandering  about." 

"  Ah,"  said  Charlie,  "  call  it  *  Dogtown  ' ;  we  have  n't 
any  better  name  for  it." 

"  All  right,"  laughed  Jack.     "  I  '11  put  it  down." 

"  Mr.  Fannin,"  said  Jack,  after  a  pause,  "  I  was 
thinking  last  night  of  the  hammer  that  that  old  Siwash 
was  using  to  mend  his  canoe.  That  was  a  regular 
primitive  implement,  was  n't  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Fannin ;  "  you  often  see  the  Indians 
still  using  these  hammers.    I  suppose  to  an  Indian  they 


A    MOTHER'S    COURAGE 


195 


are  just  as  good,  and  maybe  lots  better,  than  a  white 
man's  hammer." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  ^'  I  don't  see  why  they  should  n't 
be ;  but  while  the  hammer  was  old-fashioned  and  prim- 
itive, the  strip  of  tin  which  he  was  nailing  over  the 
cracks  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe  and  the  tacks  were 
modern.    Where  do  you  suppose  he  got  them?  " 

"  Why,  from  a  trading  schooner,  of  course,"  said 
Fannin.  "  There  are  three  or  four  small  schooners 
that  sail  up  and  down  the  coast  here,  trading  with  the 
Indians  for  oil  and  fish,  and  a  little  fur,  and  the  chances 
are  that  the  tin  came  from  some  old  tin  can  thrown 
overboard  by  such  a  schooner,  and  that  the  tacks  were 
bought  from  it.  Of  course  it  may  be  that  these  people 
have  been  to  Comux  or  even  to  Nanaimo." 

"  That  salmon  spear  is  interesting,  too,"  said  Jack, 
''  and  I  hope  we  '11  have  a  chance  to  get  some  food  with 
it." 

"  These  spears,"  replied  Fannin,  "  are  very  useful 
to  these  people.  This  one,  as  you  see,  is  about  sixteen 
feet  long,  the  main  shaft  being  about  twelve  feet  and 
the  two  prongs  about  four.  It  is  a  well  finished  tool 
and  rather  attractive  to  the  eye,  wrapped  as  it  is  with 
the  neat  strips  of  bark  about  the  ends  of  the  shaft.  That 
flat  handle  with  the  deep  notches  at  the  upper  end,  for 
two  of  the  fingers  of  the  man  who  is  to  throw  it,  give 
a  good  hold.  Then  the  two  prongs  at  the  other  end 
bound  firmly  to  the  shaft,  and  tapering  to  a  point 
below,  and  slightly  diverging,  make  a  good  implement 
for  throwing  into  a  school  of  fish ;  but  the  interesting 
part  of  the  thing  is  the  way  the  spear  heads  are  fastened 
on  to  make  it  effective.  You  see  the  line  looped  about 
the  shaft  close  above  the  point  where  the  diverging 
prongs  leave  it,  that  each  end  of  the  line  is  long  enough 
to  reach  clear  to  the  end  of  the  prongs,  and  that  to 
each  extremity  of  this  line  is  attached  a  spear  point. 
The  socket  which  slips  on  the  sharpened  end  of  the 


196        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

prong  is  made  of  the  horn  of  the  deer,  or  of  the  moun- 
tain goat,  or  even  of  bone;  and  the  piercing  point  is 
either  a  sharpened  nail  or  some  other  sharp  bit  of 
iron  lashed  to  the  socket  with  a  fishing  line  or  a  strand 
of  kelp.  When  the  spear  is  to  be  used,  the  heads  are 
slipped  on  to  the  points  of  the  prongs,  and  are  held  in 
position  by  the  tension  of  the  cord,  which  is  so  short 
that  some  little  effort  is  needed  to  slip  the  socket  on 
to  the  point.  When  a  salmon  has  been  deeply  pierced 
by  the  iron  point,  his  struggles  slip  the  socket  off  the 
prong  and  the  fish  struggles  about  for  a  few  moments 
at  the  end  of  the  cord  until  he  is  so  exhausted  that 
he  can  be  brought  to  the  surface  of  the  water  and 
lifted  into  the  canoe.  If  the  point  were  firmly  attached 
to  the  prongs  the  attempt  to  haul  a  vigorous  fish  to  the 
surface  might  very  well  result  in  the  pulling  out  of 
the  spear  point  and  the  loss  of  the  fish." 

All  the  day  long  the  canoe  moved  slowly  down  the 
Inlet,  stemming  the  flood  tide  which  at  times  made 
them  all  work  at  their  paddles  with  an  energy  that  no 
one  of  the  crew  greatly  enjoyed.  Before  them  the 
snowy  tops  of  the  mountains  and  the  blue  glaciers 
looked  cool  and  inviting,  but  no  breath  of  air  ruffled 
the  smooth  surface  of  the  Inlet,  and  the  fierce  rays  of 
the  sun,  both  direct  and  reflected  from  the  water, 
scorched  them  all  day  long.  About  the  middle  of 
the  afternoon,  as  they  were  passing  a  point  opposite 
Moorsam  Bluffs,  a  level  spot  was  found,  covered  with 
forest.  A  pleasant  brook  ran  down  here,  and  the  spot 
looked  like  an  attractive  camping  place.  When  they 
landed  they  found  evidences  that  it  was  one  favored 
by  the  Indians  of  the  Inlet,  for  there  were  here  relics 
of  many  a  camp.  Piles  of  stone  blackened  by  fire, 
white  heaps  of  the  bones  of  the  deer  and  mountain 
goat,  decayed  vegetation  and  fragments  of  discarded 
clothing  and  skins,  worn-out  implements,  a  tiny  baby 
basket  or  Indian  cradle,  and  many  other  articles  left 


A    MOTHER'S    COURAGE  197 

by  former  occupants  were  scattered  about  over  the 
ground,  and  showed  that  the  Indians  often  stopped 
there  and  sometimes  remained  for  a  considerable  time. 
In  fact  there  were  so  many  evidences  of  human  occu- 
pancy that  it  was  agreed  that  some  other  spot  which 
had  not  been  Cjuite  so  much  frequented  by  Indians 
would  be  a  better  location  for  their  camp ;  and  moving 
a  few  hundred  yards  further  down  the  Inlet  they  found 
such  a  place  at  the  mouth  of  the  boisterous  brook  which 
here  tumbled  into  the  salt  water. 

Here  Jack  and  Hugh  and  Fannin,  finding  a  good 
beach,  took  a  plunge  in  the  salt  water,  and  while  thus 
engaged  found  that  the  little  bay  was  alive  with  salmon. 
On  shouting  this  to  the  others  the  Indians  put  off  in 
the  canoe,  and  for  half  an  hour  Hamset  perseveringly 
threw  the  salmon  spear  into  the  school  of  fish  that  were 
breaking  everywhere  about  the  canoe.  For  a  few 
minutes  Jack  and  Hugh  watched  him ;  but  as  he  failed 
to  secure  anything,  they  soon  grew  tired,  and  at  length 
went  ashore  into  the  camp.  Half  an  hour  later  the 
canoe  returned  to  the  shore,  and  the  Indians  had  three 
good-sized  fish  to  show  for  their  efforts. 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  from  the  number  of  fish  that 
seemed  to  be  out  there  in  that  little  piece  of  water, 
I  should  think  these  fellows  might  have  loaded  the 
canoe  with  them  in  this  time." 

*'  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  "  that 's  true;  but  it 's  wonder- 
ful how  much  room  there  is  in  the  water  around  a 
salmon,  and  then  you  have  got  to  hit  the  fish  just  right 
or  else  you  will  not  drive  the  spear  into  him.  If  you 
are  not  used  to  seeing  salmon  you  will  think  there  's 
an  awful  lot  of  fish  out  there;  but  you  just  ought  to 
see  them  in  some  of  the  rivers  in  the  Province  here. 
Why,  sometimes  they  are  so  thick  that  you  literally 
can't  see  the  bottom  for  their  backs.  A  good  many 
people,  who  have  never  been  on  a  stream  during  the 
salmon  run,  think  that  the  stories  about  their  abun- 


198        JACK   THE   YOUNG    CANOEMAN 

dance  must  be  lies;  but  they  are  not.  You  can't 
exaggerate  their  numbers.  I  have  seen  people  go  down 
to  the  stream  with  a  pitchfork,  and  throw  out  the 
fish  they  wanted  onto  the  bank,  just  as  you  would  lift 
a  load  of  turnips  on  a  fork  if  you  thrust  it  into  a  pile 
of  them.  When  the  fish  are  running,  of  course,  the 
bears  and  eagles  have  no  trouble  at  all  in  catching  all 
they  want.  Even  the  hogs  go  down  to  the  stream  and 
take  out  the  fish.  In  fact,  during  the  salmon  run,  and 
for  some  months  after  it,  settlers  who  expect  to  kill 
their  hogs  keep  them  shut  up;  because,  if  they  are 
allowed  to  feed  on  the  salmon  the  flesh  becomes 
flavored  with  fish  to  a  point  where  pepple  can't  eat 
it.  That  sounds  like  a  pretty  good  story  too,  but  it 's 
true.  Later  in  the  season,  when  the  dead  fish  are 
in  the  streams,  —  and  there  are  always  many  of  them, 
—  the  hens  of  the  settlers  eat  them,  and  often  eat 
so  many  that  their  eggs  can't  be  used  on  account  of 
the  fishy  taste.  That 's  another  good  one,  but  it 's 
true." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  *'  those  stories  sound  pretty 
hard  to  believe,  but  I  guess  they  are  true.  Of  course 
we  've  always  heard  about  buffaloes,  and  how  many 
there  used  to  be,  and  I  expect  I  've  told  stories  to 
people  who  had  never  seen  them,  about  the  numbers 
of  these  animals  that  sounded  just  as  hard  to  believe 
as  your  stories  do  to  me.  It  don't  trouble  me  a  little 
bit  to  believe  what  you  told  me  about  the  taste  of  the 
flesh  of  these  animals.  Everybody  knows,  I  reckon, 
that  the  food  that  an  animal  eats  gives  its  flesh  good 
flavor  or  bad  flavor." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  that 's  so,  of  course.  I  have 
heard  my  uncle  tell  a  great  many  times  about  some 
kinds  of  ducks  living  up  on  Long  Island  and  eating 
little  clams  and  other  shell-fish,  and  being  strong  and 
fishy  to  the  taste,  while  the  same  ducks,  when  they  go 
down  South  and  live  in  water  that  is  fresh  or  nearly  so, 


A    MOTHER'S    COURAGE  199 

eating  nothing  but  grass  and  roots,  are  as  delicate  and 
fine  flavored  as  can  be." 

''  That 's  gospel  truth,  son,"  said  Hugh,  "  and  you 
see  the  same  thing  out  on  the  plains  and  in  the  moun- 
tains. Take  it  early  in  the  season,  before  the  grass 
begins  to  grow,  and  the  first  green  thing  that  grows 
out  of  the  earth  is  a  wild  onion.  If  you  kill,  up  at  the 
edge  of  the  mountains,  a  buffalo  or  a  mountain  sheep, 
just  after  these  onions  have  sprung  up,  you  can  hardly 
eat  the  meat." 

''  Yes,"  remarked  Jack,  "  and  I  have  heard,  too, 
that  the  milk  of  the  cows  is  often  flavored  with  these 
onions." 

''  I  know  that 's  so,"  assented  Fannin. 

"  But  what  gets  me,"  said  Hugh,  ''  is  the  multitude 
of  these  salmon  that  there  must  be.  Of  course  we 
have  n't  seen  many  of  them ;  but  from  what  you  say, 
Fannin,  they  just  crowd  every  river  that  comes  into  the 
salt  water,  and  there  are  an  awful  lot  of  rivers  along 
this  coast." 

The  camp  had  a  great  dinner  that  night.  The 
Indians  transfixed  a  large  fat  salmon  with  a  stick, 
which  was  thrust  into  the  ground  so  that  it  overhung 
the  fire  at  an  angle.  There  the  salmon  roasted  until 
it  was  done,  and  then  its  bones  were  picked  as  clean 
as  any  bear  could  have  picked  them.  A  smaller  salmon, 
slim  and  red  fleshed,  was  cut  into  steaks  and  fried,  and 
there  was  unlimited  deer  meat.  It  was  all  very  deli- 
cious ;  and  after  the  meal  was  over  the  party  sat  around 
the  fire  for  a  little  while,  too  lazy  to  talk,  and  then 
w^ent  to  bed. 

The  next  morning,  before  the  canoe  was  loaded, 
Jack  spent  an  hour  or  two  leaning  over  its  side,  and 
watching  the  movements  of  the  different  marine  ani- 
mals at  work  in  the  shallow  water  near  the  shore. 
There  were  hundreds  of  little  crabs,  the  largest  about 
the  size  of  a  silver  half-dollar,  clambering  over  the 


200        JACK   THE    YOUNG    CANOEMAN 

stones  like  so  many  goats,  and  apparently  feeding  on 
the  vegetable  matter  that  grew  on  them.  They  walked 
slowly  here  and  there,  plucking  the  food  with  their 
curiously  swollen  white  claws,  using  the  right  and  left 
claw  alternately,  so  that  while  one  was  holding  the  food 
to-'the  mouth  the  other  was  gathering  a  fresh  supply. 
They  seemed  wholly  absorbed  in  what  they  were  doing. 
Their  jaws  moved  continuously,  and  they  had  a  most 
businesslike  and  methodical  aspect.  The  larger  crabs 
were  of  a  deep  purple  color,  while  the  smaller  ones 
were  mostly  dull,  grayish  green,  a  protective  color 
which  corresponded  very  closely  with  that  of  the  stones 
on  which  they  fed.  They  seemed  to  get  along  peace- 
ably; though  once  in  a  while,  if  a  small  crab  came 
too  near  a  large  one,  the  latter  would  make  a  threaten- 
ing dash  at  the  little  fellow,  which  would  at  once  retreat 
with  many  defensive  demonstrations  of  its  claws. 

Fixed  to  the  sides  of  many  of  the  stones  were  the 
curved  white  tubes  of  marine  worms;  some  of  them 
deserted  and  empty;  while  from  the  mouths  of  others 
there  protruded  a  cluster  of  deep  crimson  tentacles, 
the  whole  looking  like  some  beautiful  white-stemmed 
flower.  If  the  red  cluster  was  cautiously  approached 
and  touched  it  instantly  withdrew  into  the  tube  which 
then  appeared  empty.  But  five  minutes  later  a  small 
spot  of  red  began  slowly  to  appear,  far  down  in  the 
tube;  and  gradually  drawing  nearer  the  aperture,  the 
arms  would  be  gently  thrust  out,  and  the  animal  would 
resume  its  flower-like  appearance.  On  certain  stones 
and  rocks  were  great  numbers  of  barnacles,  which  were 
not  the  least  interesting  of  the  living  creatures  Jack 
saw.  At  those  stages  of  the  tide  when  the  water  did 
not  reach  them  their  shells  remained  closed,  and  showed 
no  signs  of  life;  but  as  soon  as  they  were  fairly  covered 
by  ^he  water,  each  little  pair  of  valves  opened,  and  the 
tiny  arms  were  extended  and  waved  through  the  air 
with  a  regular  motion  which  ceased  only  when  they 


A    MOTHER'S    COURAGE  201 

had  grasped  some  morsel  of  food  that  was  floating  by. 
When  this  took  place  the  arms  were  quickly  drawn  into 
the  slicU,  and  the  valves  closed;  and  for  some  little 
time  the  animal  remained  quiet.  On  the  beach  and  in 
the  water  wxre  many  sea  urchins  and  starfish,  some 
of  which  moved  about  over  the  bottom.  Both  pro- 
gressed slowly ;  the  sea  urchins  by  a  continuous  motion 
of  the  long  spines,  with  which  their  shells  are  covered ; 
and  though  the  animal's  rate  of  advance  could  hardly 
be  noticed  if  one  kept  looking  at  it,  Jack  found  that 
they  did  move,  and  seemed  to  be  capable  of  quite  long 
journeys.  Jack  took  up  one  of  these  sea  urchins  to 
look  at  its  under  side,  and  found  that  it  had  a  continu- 
ous movement  of  the  mouth  and  soft  parts,  as  though 
striving  to  obtain  air.  When  he  put  it  into  the  water 
again  he  placed  it  on  its  back,  on  a  flat  stone,  and  was 
interested  in  seeing  it  turn  over  and  right  itself  by  the 
same  quiet,  but  continuous,  movement  of  the  spines. 

The  starfish  moved  much  more  rapidly  than  the 
sea  urchins.  They  seemed  to  drag  themselves  along 
by  some  slight  up  and  down  motion  of  their  arms,  and 
also  by  hooking  the  ends  of  these  arms  around  the 
angles  of  the  rocks,  thus  pulling  themselves  forward 
for  a  short  distance.  Starfish  were  very  common 
along  this  coast,  and  were  of  all  sizes  and  colors.  Jack 
had  noticed  them  brown,  black,  yellow,  orange,  red, 
and  purple.  They  ranged  in  size  from  the  diameter 
of  a  five-cent  piece  up  to  ten  inches  across  the  arms. 
They  seemed  most  abundant  on  the  shore  just  about 
low  water  mark,  but  were  by  no  means  confined  to  this 
situation. 

Often  they  were  seen  clinging  to  the  rocks  where 
they  had  been  left  bare  by  the  tide;  and  sometimes  a 
great  cluster  of  the  large  red  or  purple  ones  were  col- 
lected in  an  angle  of  the  rock,  showing  against  a  back- 
ground of  shining  black  mussels  and  brown  seaweed 
with  very  striking  effect. 


202        JACK   THE    YOUNG    CANOEMAN 

A  light  breeze  blowing  down  the  Inlet  made  it  pos- 
sible to  set  the  sail,  and  the  canoe  slipped  rapidly  along 
over  the  water.  The  tide  w^as  ebbing,  and  their  prog- 
ress was  good;  but  at  length  a  turn  in  the  fiord  shut 
off  the  breeze,  the  paddles  were  called  for,  and  they 
had  several  hours  of  hard  paddling.  The  canoe  was 
passing  so  close  to  the  shore  that  the  mountains  on  that 
side  were  hidden  from  view,  while  on  the  other  shore 
the  hills  were  low  and  not  especially  picturesque.  Jack 
kept  looking  at  one  point  after  another,  hoping  that 
each  would  be  the  last,  and  that  when  the  one  ahead 
was  rounded  he  would  see  the  broad  waters  of  the 
beautiful  bay  into  which  they  had  looked  some  days 
before  toward  the  Twin  Falls.  After  several  disap- 
pointments he  said  to  Hugh : 

"  Hugh,  this  reminds  me  of  riding  over  the  plains. 
I  have  been  watching  these  points,  hoping  that  each 
would  be  the  last,  just  as  when  riding  over  the  prairies 
I  always  looked  at  the  hill  ahead  of  me  and  thought 
that  from  that  hill  I  should  be  able  to  see  some  dis- 
tance; but  there  was  always  another  one  just  beyond." 

''  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  ''  I  know  just  what  the  feeling  is, 
and  I  guess  everybody  does  who  has  ever  travelled  the 
prairies.  Why,  even  the  Indians  tell  about  some  man 
who  prophesied  to  them  long  ago,  when  dogs  were 
their  only  animals,  about  a  time  when  they  would  get 
horses.  He  said  that  when  they  got  horses  they  would 
always  be  on  the  move,  and  that  they  would  ride  up 
on  a  hill  and  see  another  hill  beyond;  and  then  they 
would  want  to  get  to  that  one  to  see  what  was  beyond 
it;  and  so  would  keep  going  all  the  time,  and  never 
be  quiet." 

It  was  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  when  the  last 
point  was  rounded  and  they  came  in  sight  of  the  Twin 
Falls.  Even  then  an  hour  or  two  was  needed  to  bring 
the  canoe  to  what  looked  like  a  good  camping  place, 
near  the  falls.    When  they  reached  the  shore  they  were 


A   MOTHER'S    COURAGE  203 

disappointed,  for  the  timber  was  so  thick  and  high,  and 
the  chff  over  which  the  water  fell  was  so  nearly  straight 
up  and  down,  that  it  was  impossible  to  obtain  any  view 
of  the  cataract  from  the  land.  But  by  pushing  out  a 
few^  hundred  yards  from  the  shore  its  whole  majesty 
was  seen.  Two  wide  streams  of  water  flow  on  either 
side  of  an  island  in  the  river,  plunging  over  the  cliffs, 
and  falling  quite  five  hundred  feet  before  they  meet 
with  any  check;  then  from  here  are  two  more  leaps 
of  three  hundred  feet  each,  and  then  other  lesser  ones 
of  two  hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The 
stream  falls  between  dark  green  walls  of  Douglas  firs 
on  either  side ;  and  the  rocky  face  of  the  mountains  is 
entirely  hidden.  Before  the  water  strikes  the  rocks  it 
has  become  spray,  and  from  each  little  bench  thin 
clouds  of  w^hite  mist  rise  to  the  treetops  and  float  off 
with  the  wind.  The  dull  roar  of  the  Falls  is  almost 
deafening.  Sometimes  it  sinks  to  the  muttering  of 
distant  thunder,  and  then  rises  louder  than  before, 
sounding  like  the  boom  of  heavy  guns  in  the  distance. 
Close  over  the  tops  of  the  trees  they  saw,  as  they  first 
approached  the  spot,  a  splendid  white-headed  eagle, 
swinging  about  on  motionless  wing.  Now  and  then, 
as  he  turned,  the  bright  sunlight  flashed  upon  his  head 
and  tail,  and  caused  them  to  shine  like  silver,  while 
his  dark  body  looked  black  against  the  sky.  Unmoved 
by  the  tumult  below  him,  and  unshaken  by  the  blasts 
that  were  now  causing  the  mighty  trees  to  bend  their 
heads,  he  floated  to  and  fro  in  his  broad  eyrie,  the 
only  living  thing  seen  in  all  the  wide  landscape. 

On  landing,  it  took  some  time  to  fix  the  tent  and 
cut  the  fir  and  hemlock  boughs  which  were  needed  to 
make  comfortable  the  uneven  ground  where  the  beds 
were  to  be  spread.  But  after  this  had  been  done  Jack 
took  his  rifle  and  declared  that  he  was  going  up  the 
hill  to  see  what  he  could  see.  Hugh  said  that  he 
would  go  too,  and  the  two  set  off. 


204        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

From  the  spot  where  the  camp  had  been  pitched  a 
broad,  well-beaten  trail  led  up  to  the  mountains.  But 
this  soon  grew  very  steep.  Great  boulders  had  to  be 
climbed  over  or  gone  around.  Great  green  leaves  and 
a  slippery  moss  hid  the  ground  and  made  it  difficult 
to  know  just  where  they  were  stepping.  More  than 
once  Jack,  who  was  in  the  lead,  narrowly  escaped  an 
ugly  fall.  Presently  the  trail  gave  out  or  was  lost,  and 
then  the  easiest  mode  of  progress  was  to  walk  along 
the  fallen  tree  trunks,  which  in  many  places  lay  piled 
high  on  one  another,  as  a  lot  of  jackstraws  would 
look  if  thrown  down  at  random.  Even  such  a  road 
presented  some  difficulty;  for  sometimes  a  span  of 
the  bridge  would  be  missing,  and  it  w^ould  be  necessary 
to  descend  to  the  ground  and  clamber  up  among  the 
rocks. 

At  last  the  first  leap  of  the  falls  was  reached,  but 
from  here  very  little  could  be  seen,  for  the  foliage  and 
mist  entirely  obscured  the  view.  Further  up,  for  a 
hundred  yards  on  either  side  of  the  stream,  the  ground 
and  the  foliage  were  damp  and  dripping  from  the  heavy 
spray,  and  the  wet  moss  which  covered  everything 
made  climbing  difficult  and  even  dangerous.  The 
forest  along  the  stream  was  open,  and  Jack  and  Hugh 
pursued  their  way,  sometimes  being  obliged  to  climb 
up  walls  that  were  almost  vertical.  Still  higher  up 
the  forest  began  to  give  way  to  little  open  parks,  and 
before  very  long  the  appearance  of  the  sky  above 
them  showed  that  the  timber  was  either  much  lower 
or  entirely  absent.  They  were  not  greatly  surprised, 
then,  when  after  a  little  time  they  came  out  of  the 
forest  into  an  open  country,  in  the  midst  of  which 
was  a  high,  naked,  rocky  hill. 

At  different  points  on  the  hill  they  saw  a  number 
of  white  objects  which  they  recognized  as  goats.  They 
did  not  feel  that  they  needed  any  goats,  but  these 
animals  were  still  sufficiently  new  to  Hugh  and  Jack 


A    MOTHER'S    COURAGE  205 

to  make  them  wish  to  see  them  again  at  closer  range. 
A  Httle  manoeuvring  took  them  out  of  the  sight  of  the 
goats,  and  they  began  to  cHmb  the  hill.  After  they 
had  ascended  some  distance  they  crept  out  onto  a  rocky 
point  and  could  see,  above,  below,  and  on  each  side  of 
them,  small  groups  of  these  animals  feeding  on  the 
ledges  and  steep  slopes.  Quite  close  to  them  was  an 
old  goat,  about  which  was  playing  a  little  kid,  not  a 
beautiful  or  graceful  object,  but  one  very  curious  in 
its  clumsiness  and  its  high  spirits.  It  ran  about  its 
mother  before  and  behind,  sometimes  climbing  a  little 
way  up  on  a  steep  bank,  and  then  throwing  itself  down 
on  its  side,  rolling  over  and  over  until  a  level  place 
was  reached,  when  it  would  rise,  and  after  a  rest  climb 
up  the  slope  and  repeat  the  performance.  The  mother 
paid  little  attention  to  her  young  one,  but  fed  slowly 
along,  constantly  approaching  closer  and  closer  to  Jack 
and  Hugh,  who  commented  on  the  goats'  odd  appear- 
ance and  their  no  less  extraordinary  actions. 

Suddenly  Hugh  stretched  out  his  hand  and  caught 
Jack's  arm  and  whispered  to  him :  "  Look  at  that 
lion !  "  Jack  looked,  but  could  see  nothing,  and  before 
he  could  ask  the  question  "Where?"  a  great  yellow 
animal  flashed  out  from  the  top  of  a  bank  close  to  the 
old  goat,  flew  through  the  air,  and  fell  upon  the  back 
of  the  kid,  which  sank  to  the  s^round  with  a  low,  w^hin- 
ing  cry.  Instantly  the  mother  whirled  on  her  hind  legs, 
and  with  a  swiftness  hardly  to  be  believed  of  such  a 
clumsy-looking  animal,  plunged  at  the  panther  crouch- 
ing on  the  ground  over  the  kid  and  drove  her  short 
horns  deep  into  his  side  back  of  the  shoulder.  The  force 
of  the  blow  knocked  the  animal  to  the  ground,  but  he 
turned,  bent  the  fore  part  of  his  body  round  and 
grasped  the  goat  by  the  back  and  side  with  both  paws, 
and  seized  her  body  with  his  teeth  back  of  the  fore 
shoulder.  The  goat  seemed  to  draw  back  a  few  inches, 
and  then  made  another  plunge  forward,  driving  her 


2o6        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

horns  into  her  enemy  again.  The  panther  loosened 
his  hold  on  the  goat,  struggled  to  his  feet,  and  stag- 
gered a  half  dozen  steps  away,  and  then  fell  over  on 
his  side.  The  mother  goat  made  no  effort  to  pursue 
him,  but  nosed  at  the  dying  kid,  as  if  trying  to  induce 
it  to  get  on  its  feet  again.  On  her  side  were  a  few 
drops  of  blood,  wdiere  the  panther's  claws  had  scratched 
her,  but  on  neither  side  of  the  ridge  of  the  back  where 
he  had  clawed  her  with  the  other  foot  and  had  bitten 
her  was  there  to  be  seen  any  evidence  of  an  injury. 

This  had  all  happened  so  quickly  that  the  watchers 
had  no  time  to  comment  on  it  nor  to  shoot.  When 
it  was  over  they  sat  up  and  looked  at  each  other,  no 
longer  thinking  to  hide  from  the  goat. 

*'  That 's  a  wonderful  thing  to  have  seen,  is  n't  it?  " 
said  Jack. 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh.  "  I  confess  it  beats  me.  It 
reminds  me  a  little  bit  of  that  story  I  was  telling  you 
the  other  night  about  the  buffalo  bull  that  killed  the 
bear.  Who  'd  have  thought  that  that  goat  could  have 
killed  that  panther.  I  've  always  heard  that  these 
mountain  goats  were  great  hands  to  fight,  and  that 
they  didn't  know  enough  to  be  afraid  of  anything; 
but  I  never  expected  to  see  it  myself  as  we  have  seen 
it." 

"  But  where  did  that  lion  come  from  ?  "  said  Jack. 
"  I  did  n't  see  him  until  he  jumped." 

"  He  was  lying  right  on  that  ledge  over  there  when 
I  first  saw  him,  crouched  flat  all  except  his  head,  which 
was  lifted  high  enough  to  just  see  over  the  bank. 
As  soon  as  I  saw  him  I  grabbed  you,  and  a  minute 
after  he  jumped,"  explained  Hugh. 

''  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  we  want  to  take  his  hide  back 
with  us  to  camp.     I  expect  he  's  dead,  all  right." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  guess  he  's  dead,  but  what 
about  the  old  goat  ?  She  's  going  to  stay  with  that 
kid  of  hers,  and  I  surely  don't  want  to  walk  up  any 


A    MOTHER'S    COURAGE  207 

too  close  to  her.  She  's  Hkely  to  treat  us  the  way  she 
did  the  panther." 

"Yes,  I  guess  so,"  said  Jack;  ''and,  of  course,  we 
don't  want  to  kill  her,  though,  to  be  sure,  her  head 
would  go  mighty  well  with  that  panther  skin." 

''  I  '11  tell  you,"  said  Hugh,  "  let 's  go  round  a  little 
bit  and  get  above  her  and  roll  some  rocks  down,  and 
perhaps  she  will  walk  off." 

This  suggestion  was  carried  out,  and  the  old  goat 
at  length  was  induced  to  leave  her  kid  and  slowly  go 
off,  finally  disappearing  over  a  ledge  at  some  distance. 
Jack  and  Hugh  went  down  to  look  at  the  panther. 
They  found  in  his  side,  just  back  of  the  shoulder,  four 
round  perforations,  and  discovered  that  four  of  his 
ribs  had  been  broken  where  the  goat's  head  had 
struck  him.  After  they  had  skinned  him  they  found 
that  the  beast's  lungs  had  been  pierced  three  times 
by  the  goat's  horns  and  the  heart  once.  It  was  no 
wonder  that  the  cat  had  died. 

''  I  suppose,"  said  Hugh,  ''  that  we  might  as  well 
take  that  kid  along  with  us.  It 's  eatable,  and  the 
Indians  probably  will  like  it  just  as  well  as  deer  meat." 

"  All  right,"  said  Jack.  ''  If  you  will  take  the  skin, 
I  will  take  the  kid." 

"  Come  on,  then,"  said  Hugh.  ''  We  had  better 
hurry,  it  's  getting  on  toward  dark ;  and  the  road 
down  this  hill  is  a  rough  one." 

By  the  time  that  they  reached  the  trail  below  it  was 
quite  dark,  but  they  met  with  no  accident.  When  they 
reached  camp  again  they  had  an  interesting  story  for 
Fannin.  The  Indians,  too,  gathered  around  and  asked 
the  meaning  of  the  holes  in  the  panther's  skin,  remark- 
ing that  they  did  not  look  like  bullet  holes,  and  there 
were  no  places  where  the  balls  had  come  out.  Fannin 
explained  to  them  what  had  taken  place.  The  Indians 
nodded  sagely,  and  Hamset  said  to  Fannin :  "  Once 
before  I  've  heard  of  a  thing  like  this.     I  have  also 


2o8        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

heard  of  a  goat  fighting  a  bear  that  had  killed  her  kid, 
and  driving  it  away.  These  white  sheep  are  great 
fighters.  I  have  seen  them  killed  with  many  marks 
on  their  skins,  showing  where  they  had  been  cut  by 
the  horns  of  others  they  had  been  fighting  with;  and 
I  have  seen  two  which  had  in  their  hams  the  horns 
of  other  goats'  that  had  been  broken  off  in  the  flesh. 
They  fight  a  good  deal.  One  of  my  relations  once  told 
me  that  he  had  crept  up  close  to  a  goat,  and  rose  up 
to  shoot  the  animal.  When  it  saw  him,  it  put  all  its 
hair  forward  and  rushed  at  him,  but  he  killed  it  before 
it  reached  him." 

Jack,  Hugh,  and  Fannin  spent  some  time  that  night 
over  the  panther  skin,  cleaned  it  and  laced  it  over  a 
frame  where  it  might  dry.  Whether  it  would  dry  or 
spoil  would,  of  course,  depend  upon  the  weather  of  the 
next  few  days.  Bright,  dry  weather  with  some  wind 
would  surely  cure  the  skin;  but  continued  damp 
weather,  which  would  keep  it  moist,  would  as  surely 
spoil  it. 

The  camp  ground  that  they  occupied  to-night  had 
been  used  by  Indians  as  a  stopping  place,  and  lying  on 
the  beach  were  a  number  of  bones.  One  of  the  most 
oddly  shaped  ones  was  picked  up  by  Fannin,  who 
asked  Jimmie  what  animal  it  belonged  to.  The  boy 
did  not  hesitate,  but  answered  in  Chinook,  *'  Tuiceco- 
lecou  "  (porpoise  neck) .  Jack  and  Hugh  were  mightily 
astonished  at  this  identification,  but  Fannin  pointed 
out  to  them  that  this  bone,  which  is  made  up  of  all 
of  the  vertebrae  of  the  neck  grown  together  so  as  to 
form  a  single  bone,  is  most  characteristic,  and  could 
scarcely  have  escaped  the  observation  of  the  Indians, 
who  kill  great  numbers  of  these  marine  mammals. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

JACK    MEETS    A    SEAL    PIRATE 

From  the  camp  at  Twin  Falls  the  course  was  south- 
east, and  passing  between  Captain  and  Nelson  Islands 
the  canoe  entered  Agamemnon  Channel.  Early  in  the 
afternoon  they  came  out  on  Malaspina  Straits.  A  fresh 
breeze  carried  the  canoe  along  at  a  good  rate  of  speed, 
and  in  the  evening  camp  was  made  on  the  mainland, 
a  little  beyond  Merry  Island. 

The  following  day,  as  they  were  approaching  an 
Indian  village,  situated  near  the  point  where  the  trail 
from  the  head  of  Seechelt  Inlet  came  down  to  the  shore 
of  the  Gulf,  they  saw  a  trading  schooner  anchored  off 
it.  Provisions  were  growing  low,  and  it  was  deter- 
mined to  visit  the  vessel  and  see  whether  food  could 
be  purchased.  As  they  paddled  toward  it,  a  dog  which 
w^as  running  up  and  down  the  deck  barked  loudly  at 
them  in  seeming  salutation,  and  they  saw  the  figure 
of  a  man  watching  them  from  the  stern.  Presently 
they  were  near  enough  to  hail  him,  and  he  invited  them 
to  come  aboard,  which  they  did.  The  Indians  remained 
in  the  canoe,  and  kept  it  from  rubbing  against  the 
schooner's  side. 

The  man  was  a  splendid,  big,  hearty  young  fellow, 
but  a  cripple,  having  lost  his  leg  just  below  the  knee. 
He  talked  with  them  about  where  they  had  been,  what 
they  had  done  and  seen,  and  spoke  of  the  vessel's 
owner,  who  had  gone  inland  with  a  back  load  of  trade 
goods,  to  try  to  secure  some  furs  that  were  said  to  be 
at  an  Indian  camp  some  miles  inland.  "  I  ought  to 
have  gone  with  him,"  he  said,  ^'  but  you  see  I  can't  get 

14 


2IO        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

around  very  easily  with  only  one  leg.  In  this  country 
there  is  so  much  moisture  and  so  many  rocks,  that  it 's 
pretty  hard  for  a  man  to  get  around  at  all.  He  needs 
two  legs,  and  good  ones  at  that.  I  can't  walk  far  or 
long,  and  this  confounded  pin  of  mine  sometimes  gets 
stuck  in  the  soft  ground  or  wedged  between  rocks,  and 
keeps  me  anchored  until  I  can  pull  it  out.  So,  really,  I 
am  no  good  except  to  keep  shop  and  help  to  work  the 
ship.  It  seems  mighty  good  to  see  the  white  folks 
again ;  we  have  been  out  all  summer,  and  I  've  not 
seen  anybody  except  the  Indians,  and  I  don't  care 
much  for  them. 

"  Now,  you  two,"  he  said,  as  he  pointed  to  Jack  and 
Hugh,  "  you  come  from  my  country.  This  man,"  he 
said,  pointing  to  Fannin,  ''  belongs  here.  He  is  a 
Canuck." 

*' You  are  an  American,  sir?"  asked  Jack. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  man,  ''  I  am  an  American ;  just 
about  as  much  American  as  anybody  can  be.  I  come 
from  the  state  of  Maine,  and  that 's  about  as  far  east 
as  the  United  States  goes." 

"  That 's  so,"  said  Jack.  "  The  old  Pine  Tree  State 
is  a  great  state." 

''  Right  you  are,  young  fellow,"  said  the  man. 
"  She  's  a  great  state,  and  she  has  sent  out  some  good 
men ;  it 's  a  pity  I  was  n't  one  of  them  —  but  I  was  n't. 
My  name  is  Crocker,  and  I  was  born  right  near  the 
shore,  and  have  been  a  fisherman  and  a  sailor  all  my 
life.  The  worst  luck  ever  happened  to  me  was  when 
I  drifted  along  this  coast  and  kept  on  sailoring  here. 
This  is  the  way  that  I  lost  my  leg." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  that  was  sure  a  piece  of  bad 
luck.  I  should  think  on  one  of  these  boats  a  man  would 
need  two  good  legs,  just  as  much  as  he  does  on  a  horse. 
I  have  seen  some  one-legged  men  who  could  ride  all 
right,  but  they  were  never  so  sure  in  the  saddle  as  if 
they  had  two  legs." 


JACK    MEETS    A    SEAL    PIRATE         211 

"  No,  I  expect  not,"  said  Crocker.  ''  I  would  have 
had  two  good  legs  right  now  if  I  had  n't  come  round 
on  this  coast  and  took  to  sealing." 

"  Why,"  exclaimed  Jack,  "  how  did  sealing  make 
you  lose  your  leg?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Crocker,  "  it  was  in  this  way :  I  made 
two  or  three  voyages,  as  mate  of  a  sealing  schooner, 
—  first  with  Indians,  and  then  with  Japs.  The  last 
voyage  we  made  with  the  Indians  we  did  n't  get  any 
skins,  and  the  captain  proposed  to  me  that  we  cross 
over  to  Japan,  and  get  a  crew  of  Japs  and  then  go  north 
to  the  Commander  Islands,  and  make  a  raid  on  them, 
and  steal  seals  from  the  Russians.  Of  course  I  said 
it  was  a  go,  and  just  before  the  next  season  began  we 
went  over  and  got  a  crew  of  ten  Japs  and  sailed. 

"  When  we  came  in  sight  of  the  islands  we  found 
that  there  was  a  Russian  gun-boat  anchored  near  them, 
and  so  we  stood  out  to  sea  for  two  or  three  days,  and 
then,  going  back  to  the  islands,  we  found  the  gun-boat 
had  gone.  Now  we  thought  we  had  a  sure  thing  on 
a  load  of  seal  skins.  We  sailed  in  pretty  close  to  the 
shore,  and  then  I  took  a  boat  and  six  Japs  and  we 
started  in  for  the  beach,  the  schooner  standing  off, 
just  outside  the  rocks.  As  we  rowed  in  towards  the 
beach  we  could  see  that  the  rookery  was  a  big  one 
and  that  seals  were  plenty.  It  seemed  as  if  things 
were  going  our  way.  We  pulled  in  hard  toward  the 
rookery,  and  just  as  the  boat  was  going  to  ground 
and  the  bowman  got  ready  to  hold  her  off  a  lot  of 
Russian  soldiers  raised  their  heads  up  over  the  bluff 
and  fired  at  us. 

"  It  was  about  the  first  bunch  of  soldiers  I  ever  saw 
that  could  hit  anything;  but  they  certainly  hit  us. 
Four  of  the  Japs  were  killed  at  the  first  firing.  One 
more  was  shot  through  the  lungs  and  another  through 
the  thigh,  breaking  the  bone.  I  got  a  shot  through  this 
leg,  below  the  knee.     I  tried  mighty  hard  to  push  off 


212        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

so  as  to  get  away,  but  the  soldiers  ran  down  to  the 
beach  and  into  the  water,  caught  the  boat  and  hauled 
it  ashore.  They  threw  the  Japs  overboard,  for  both 
of  the  wounded  ones  died  pretty  soon,  and  they  carried 
me  up  onto  the  bluff  and  over  to  the  little  houses  where 
the  sealers  lived. 

''  You  see  these  Russian  soldiers  did  n't  care  anything 
about  the  Japs,  but  they  treated  me  pretty  well.  They 
gave  me  a  good  bed  and  tried  to  set  my  leg,  but  both 
bones  were  badly  smashed,  and  I  made  up  my  mind 
that  without  a  doctor  there  if  they  tried  to  set  the  leg 
they  would  make  a  botch  of  it,  and  the  leg  would  go 
bad  and  I  would  croak.  So  after  a  day  or  two  I 
picked  out  one  of  the  nerviest  of  the  chaps  and  had 
him  take  my  leg  off.  He  did  n't  know  what  to  do,  but 
I  sat  up  and  helped  him,  saw  that  the  arteries  were 
taken  up  right  and  tied,  and  that  the  bone  was  squarely 
sawed  off,  with  good  flaps  left  that  were  sewed  up. 
Three  or  four  days  after  the  leg  was  gone  the  gun- 
boat came  back  and  her  surgeon  came  ashore.  He 
looked  at  the  leg,  dressed  it,  and  said  that  it  was  a 
good  job,  and  that  he  wondered  that  any  of  those 
soldiers  had  known  how  to  take  a  leg  off  like  that. 
You  see,  he  could  talk  a  little  English  and  good  French, 
and  I  could  talk  a  little  French  and  good  English,  so 
we  got  on  pretty  well.  He  seemed  to  take  a  kind  of 
a  shine  to  me,  too,  and  after  I  got  a  little  strength  he 
had  me  brought  on  board  the  ship,  and  after  a  little 
while  we  sailed  for  Petropaulovski.  Before  we  got 
there  I  learned  from  something  that  he  said  that  the 
soldiers  had  told  him  about  my  sitting  up  and  telling 
them  how  to  take  off  the  leg.  He  seemed  to  think 
that  was  a  great  thing. 

'*  When  we  got  to  town  they  carried  me  ashore  and 
up  to  the  jail  and  took  me  in.  But  before  they  had 
fairly  got  me  locked  up,  the  doctor,  who  had  left  the 
ship  before  I  did,  came  in  and  showed  the  governor 


JACK    MEETS    A    SEAL    PIRATE         213 

of  the  jail  an  order,  and  then  I  was  taken  to  a  mighty 
comfortable  house,  and  stopped  there  for  quite  some 
time.  The  doctor  used  to  come  in  two  or  three  times 
a  day  and  talk  to  me.  Finally  I  got  able  to  get  up 
and  be  around,  and  by  that  time  the  doctor  had  had  a 
carpenter  make  me  a  wooden  leg;  so  I  pegged  around 
with  that  leg  and  a  cane,  and  got  to  having  a  pretty 
good  time ;  but,  of  course,  I  did  n't  know  what  they 
were  going  to  do  with  me. 

"  There  was  a  prince  in  town,  a  Russian  prince. 
He  was  the  head,  so  they  said,  of  the  Russian  Fur 
Company.  Once  or  twice  he  sent  for  me  and  ques- 
tioned me  about  the  seal  stealing,  and  I  told  him  all 
I  knew,  for  there  was  n't  any  use  of  making  any 
secret  of  it.  He  seemed  to  be  a  pretty  good  sort  of  a 
fellow,  and  at  length  one  day,  after  I  had  been  there 
some  months  —  it  was  winter,  and  mighty  cold  at 
that,  you  bet  —  he  said  to  me :  '  I  ought  to  send  you 
to  the  mines,  but  I  don't  believe  you  would  be  very 
useful  there,  with  that  one  leg  of  yours,  and  I  think 
the  best  thing  to  do  with  you  in  spring,  when  the 
weather  opens,  is  to  send  you  to  Yokohama  on  some 
vessel.'  Of  course  I  did  n't  have  any  ambition  to  go 
to  the  mines,  and  I  was  mighty  glad  to  be  let  off  as 
easy  as  that.  So  when  spring  came,  they  found  a 
little  schooner  that  was  going  to  sail  to  Japan,  and 
they  put  me  on  board  of  it,  and  off  I  went.  And  what 
do  you  think  that  prince  did?  Just  as  I  was  going  to 
step  into  the  boat  to  be  carried  out  to  the  schooner  he 
suddenly  appeared,  shook  hands  with  me,  and  wished 
me  good  luck  and  handed  me  a  little  canvas  bag,  which 
was  pretty  heavy,  and  said :  '  Take  good  care  of  that, 
and  make  it  go  as  far  as  you  can  ' ;  and,  by  Jove ! 
when  I  opened  that  bag  and  counted  what  was  in  it 
there  was  six  hundred  dollars, 

"  That  doctor  and  that  prince,"  he  said  slowly,  as 
he  rubbed  his  chin,  "  were  mighty  good  to  me.     They 


214        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

treated  me  white.  I  wish  though  that  the  doctor  had 
got  around  to  the  island  four  or  five  days  before  he 
did,  and  mayl^e  I  would  have  two  legs  now." 

They  had  listened  with  much  interest  to  the  seal- 
stealing  story,  and  Jack  was  anxious  to  ask  Crocker 
many  questions  about  the  strange  animals  that  he  must 
have  seen  during  his  voyage  in  the  North  Pacific, 
when  he  followed  the  seal  herds  after  they  left  the 
islands,  and  about  the  great  journey  that  the  seals 
make  south  and  west  and  east  and  north  again,  back 
to  their  starting  point.  But  Fannin  was  anxious  to 
get  on,  and  after  he  had  purchased  from  Crocker  the 
provisions  they  needed,  with  a  hearty  hand-shake  and 
with  many  good  wishes  the  canoe  travellers  stepped 
over  the  side  and  pushed  off. 

The  next  morning  was  notable  for  the  passage  of 
the  canoe  through  multitudes  of  black  sea  ducks,  which 
Jack  said  were  coots.  The  flock,  or  succession  of 
flocks,  were  as  numerous  as  those  observed  some  weeks 
before  off  Comox  Spit.  There  must  have  been  many 
thousands  of  these  birds  scattered  over  several  miles 
of  water,  and  continually  rising  as  the  canoe  disturbed 
them,  either  flying  back  over  it  or  off  to  one  side. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  travellers,  as  usual,  began 
to  look  for  a  camping  place  along  the  shore,  and  for 
some  time  without  success.  The  rocky  shores  rose 
straight  up  from  the  water  and  seemed  very  in- 
hospitable ;  but  at  length  a  little  bay,  the  most  encour- 
aging place  in  sight,  invited  the  tired  travellers  to 
investigate  it,  and  it  was  found  that,  although  the 
little  beach  was  almost  everywhere  piled  high  with 
driftwood,  there  was  a  narrow  pebbly  place  where, 
by  squeezing  up  close  together,  there  would  be  room 
enough  for  the  white  men  to  sleep.  A  tiny  trickle 
of  water  through  a  streak  of  wet  moss  ran  down  each 
side  toward  the  bay,  and  it  seemed  that  camp  might 
be  made  here.     The  canoe  was  unloaded  and  its  cargo 


JACK    MEETS    A    SEAL    PIRATE         215 

carried  up  over  the  raft  of  floating  drift  logs  to  the 
beach.  A  httle  hole  was  scraped  in  the  sand  to  catch  the 
water  that  fell,  drop  by  drop,  from  crevices  in  the  rock. 
The  largest  stones  were  removed  from  the  spot  where 
the  beds  were  to  be  spread,  and  a  fire  was  kindled. 

Long  ago  there  had  fallen  from  the  shelf  of  the 
cliff,  many  feet  above  the  beach,  a  giant  fir  tree,  whose 
roots  still  rested  where  they  had  always  been,  and 
whose  top  was  supported  by  the  bottom  of  the  bay. 
The  spot  where  the  beds  were  to  be  spread  was  directly 
beneath  this  leaning  stick  of  timber,  which,  as  it  was 
six  or  eight  feet  through,  would  even  offer  a  little 
shelter  in  case  it  should  rain  that  night.  Charlie,  how- 
ever, suggested  that  this  was  not  a  safe  place  for  the 
white  man  to  sleep,  as  during  the  night  the  tree  might 
fall  and  crush  them.  But  the  other  men  laughed  at 
him,  and  pointed  out  to  him  that  as  the  stick  had  never 
changed  its  position  for  forty  or  fifty  years,  the  chances 
were  that  it  would  not  break  or  slip  on  this  particular 
night.  Charlie  said  that  this  might  be  true  and  went 
about  his  cooking.  His  spirits,  however,  were  not 
high,  for,  even  with  what  had  just  been  bought  from 
Crocker,  the  provision  box  was  still  very  light.  The 
fresh  meat  had  been  nearly  all  eaten,  the  baking  powder 
had  all  been  used,  there  was  left  nothing  but  a  little 
bacon,  a  few  cans  of  tomatoes,  some  flour,  coffee,  and 
raisins.  To  relieve  the  impending  famine.  Jack  and 
Fannin  went  up  on  the  hills  to  look  for  game,  and, 
although  they  had  found  no  deer,  they  started  three  or 
four  grouse,  of  which  two  were  secured  and  brought 
to  the  camp  for  the  next  morning's  breakfast.  As  the 
party  turned  into  their  blankets  that  night  Charlie 
looked  at  the  great  stick  of  timber  which  overhung 
them  and  said :  "  Well,  I  hope  we  '11  be  alive  in  the 
morning." 

*'  Oh,"  said  Hugh,  "  you  go  to  bed,  Charlie;  you  're 
like  a  cow-puncher  I  once  knew.     He  called  himself 


2i6        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

a  fatalist,  and  said  that  he  beHeved  ^  whatever  was  to 
be  would  be,  whether  it  happened  so  or  not.'  " 

Fannin  said :  "  The  only  thing  I  am  afraid  of  for 
to-night  is  that  maybe  this  tide  will  rise  so  high  that 
it  will  drown  us  out,  and  we  will  be  floated  off  among 
this  drift." 

When  they  turned  in,  the  fire,  by  which  dinner  had 
been  cooked,  was  still  glowing  brightly  under  the 
old  drift  log  against  which  Charlie  had  built  it;  and 
the  only  sound  heard  in  camp  was  the  lapping  of  the 
water  against  the  beach. 

That  night  Jack  had  a  curious  dream.  He  thought 
that  he  was  asleep  in  his  room  at  his  home  in  Thirty- 
eighth  street,  when  suddenly  he  was  awakened  by  a 
bright  light,  and,  rushing  to  the  window,  saw  that 
the  house  across  the  street  was  blazing  and  that  a 
number  of  policemen  clad  in  white  were  dancing  in 
front  of  the  fire.  As  he  watched  them,  and  wondered 
anxiously  about  the  fire,  the  smoke  from  the  house 
seemed  to  turn  and  move  in  a  thick  cloud  straight  into 
his  window,  causing  him  to  choke  and  cough.  At  this 
Jack  awoke,  and  sitting  up  in  his  blanket  he  saw  the 
great  drift  log,  against  which  the  fire  had  been  built, 
glowing  like  a  furnace.  Charlie,  clad  only  in  his  shirt 
and  drawers,  was  darting  about  with  a  bucket  of  water 
in  his  hands,  dashing  it  on  the  flames.  The  fire  was 
soon  put  out ;  and  next  morning,  on  reckoning  up  their 
losses,  it  was  found  that  they  were  not  very  serious. 
A  few  cooking  utensils,  a  towel  or  two,  and  a  coat 
were  the  only  things  seriously  damaged.  If  the  fire 
had  burned  a  little  longer  and  communicated  itself  to 
the  rest  of  the  drift  stuff,  the  members  of  the  party 
might  have  been  very  uncomfortable,  and  their  loss 
might  have  been  serious. 

When  they  started  the  next  morning,  the  surface  of 
the  water  was  smooth  and  unbroken.  There  was  no 
breath   of   air,    and   great   clouds   obscured   the   sky. 


JACK   MEETS    A    SEAL    PIRATE         217 

Before  them  was  seen  the  white  lighthouse  of  Port 
Atkinson,  and  on  either  side  of  the  channel  they  were 
following  rose  a  low,  rock-bound,  fir-fringed  coast. 
Here,  for  almost  the  first  time  since  the  trip  had  been  be- 
gun, no  striking  mountain  ridges  or  snow-capped  peaks 
were  seen.  The  tide  was  running  straight  against 
them,  and  they  had  to  work  hard  to  advance  at  all. 
After  they  had  passed  the  Port  Atkinson  lighthouse  the 
Inlet  broadened  and  spread  out  over  wide  flats.  The 
canoe  kept  close  to  the  shore,  to  avoid  the  ebbing  tide, 
and  startled  from  the  grassy  shore  a  number  of  blue 
herons  which  w^ere  resting  or  fishing  at  the  water's 
edge.  Sometimes,  as  they  rounded  a  little  point,  a 
group  of  hogs  were  encountered,  eagerly  rooting  in  the 
bare  flats  for  shell-fish.  The  first  one  of  these  groups 
that  he  saw  astonished  Jack,  because  the  hogs  were 
accompanied  by  a  number  of  crows.  About  each  hog, 
on  the  ground  or  resting  on  its  back,  or  flying  about  it 
with  tumultuous  cries,  were  three  or  four  black-winged 
attendants,  which  wrangled  bitterly  over  the  fragments 
of  fish  that  the  pig  unearthed  and  failed  to  secure. 
Sometimes  a  crow  would  pounce  on  a  clam  or  other 
edible  morsel  actually  under  the  nose  of  the  hog,  and 
would  snatch  it  away  before  the  hog  realized  what  was 
happening. 

'*  Fannin,"  said  Hugh,  as  they  were  passing  along, 
''does  this  sort  of  thing  happen  regularly?  Do  these 
crows  follow  the  hogs  around  all  the  time?  " 

''  No,"  said  Fannin,  "  crows  know  too  much  for 
that.  They  only  get  together  and  follow  them  when 
they  come  down  to  the  flats  looking  for  clams.  They 
have  learned  that  the  hogs  turn  up  a  great  deal  of 
stuff  that  they  themselves  like;  and  they  have  become 
regular  attendants  on  them.  You  know  it  is  n't  so 
very  long  since  they  did  n't  have  any  loose  hogs  in 
this  country.  It  is  only  within  the  last  few  years  that 
they  have  turned  them  out  to  look  out  for  themselves." 


2i8        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN  > 

"Well,"  said  Hugh,  ''of  course  there's  lots  of 
difference  in  size,  but  these  crows  flapping  about  these 
hogs  remind  me  more  than  anything  of  the  way  the 
buffalo  birds  act  out  on  the  prairie.  They  are  just  as 
familiar  and  at  home  with  the  buffalo  and  cattle  and 
horses  as  these  crows  are  with  the  hogs  here." 

"  It 's  comical,"  said  Fannin,  "  how  familiar  any 
set  of  birds  will  get  with  animals  and  people  or  any- 
thing else,  just  as  soon  as  they  find  that  they  don't 
hurt  them." 

They  were  now  at  the  mouth  of  Burrard  Inlet  and 
had  only  a  few  miles  more  to  go  before  reaching  Hast- 
ings where  Fannin  lived,  and  where  their  canoe  voyage 
would  end.    They  had  been  about  a  month  afloat. 

The  sand  flats,  over  whose  shoal  waters  the  canoe 
was  passing,  seemed  to  be  the  home  of  a  multitude  of 
flat  fish  or  flounders.  They  lay  on  the  bottom,  and 
so  closely  resembled  it  in  color  that  it  was  impossible 
at  the  distance  of  a  few  feet  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  sand.  The  fish  remained  absolutely  motionless 
until  the  bow  of  the  canoe  was  within  two  or  three 
feet  of  them;  and  then  they  swam  quickly  away  with 
a  flapping  motion  that  did  not  seem  to  carry  them  off 
very  rapidly  as  compared  with  the  arrow-like  darting 
motions  of  most  fish;  but  they  stirred  up  a  cloud  of 
sand  and  mud  that  effectually  concealed  them. 

"  These  flat  fish  are  mighty  queer  animals,  Mr. 
Fannin,"  remarked  Jack.  ''  They  don't  look  to  me  like 
anything  I  have  ever  seen  before  in  the  world." 

"  No,"  said  Fannin,  "  I  guess  they  are  not.  They 
are  mighty  queer  kind  of  fish ;  and,  if  I  understand  it 
right,  they  are  all  skewed  around." 

"  How  do  you  mean?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  Why,"  said  Fannin,  "  I  understand  when  they  are 
hatched  they  are  right  side  up  like  other  fish ;  but  soon 
after  that  they  have  to  lie  on  their  side.  That  covers 
one  of  their  eyes,   and  that  eye  works  its  way  up 


JACK    MEETS    A    SEAL    PIRATE  219 

through  the  head  onto  the  top;  so  that,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  two  eyes  on  a  flat  fish  which  you  see  when 
you  are  looking  down  on  him  are  both  of  them  look- 
ing out  of  the  same  side  of  the  head.  What  looks  to 
you  and  me  like  the  back,  is  really  his  side,  and  what 
looks  to  you  and  me  like  his  white  belly  is  really  his 
other  side.  I  don't  understand  about  it  very  clearly, 
but  there  's  a  man  back  East  who  has  w^orked  that 
whole  thing  out.  Somebody  sent  me  a  copy  of  his 
paper  one  time,  and  I  guess  I  have  got  it  somewhere 
in  the  shop  now." 

Before  night  had  come  the  canoe  had  gone  up  the 
Inlet  to  Fannin's  shop.  Here  they  went  ashore,  and 
that  night,  for  the  first  time  in  weeks,  sat  down  at  a 
table  and  slept  in  beds.  It  was  learned  at  Hastings  that 
the  Indians  were  catching  a  good  many  salmon  at  the 
head  of  the  North  Arm ;  and  it  was  proposed  that  in- 
stead of  ending  the  trip  here,  the  canoe  should  keep 
on  up  the  Arm  and  see  the  fishing.  The  next  morning, 
therefore,  they  went  on  up  the  Inlet. 

On  the  way  they  met  three  canoe  loads  of  returning 
Indians,  and  each  canoe  was  piled  high  with  beautiful 
silvery  salmon,  weighing  eight  or  ten  pounds  each, 
which  the  Indians  had  caught  with  spears  and  gaffs 
in  the  Salmon  River.  Fannin,  who  spoke  with  the 
Indians,  told  the  others  that  this  w^as  the  fishing  party, 
and  that  now  there  were  no  Indians  at  the  head  of 
the  North  Arm.  It  was,  nevertheless,  decided  to  go 
up  there. 

When  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  river  they 
found  the  tide  lower  than  it  had  been  when  they  had 
been  there  some  weeks  ago;  but  soon  it  commenced  to 
rise,  and  as  the  water  deepened  they  began  to  pole  the 
canoe  up  the  stream,  though  frequently  all  hands  were 
obliged  to  jump  overboard  and  push  and  lift  the  canoe 
over  the  shoals  and  into  the  deeper  water.  As  the  tide 
continued  to  rise  this  became  necessary  less  frequently, 


220        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

and  before  long  the  water  was  so  good  that  they  could 
push  along  with  but  little  effort.  During  the  passage 
up  the  shallow  stream  many  salmon  were  seen  in  the 
clear  water  —  fine,  handsome  fish,  dark  blue  above; 
sometimes  showing,  as  they  darted  away  from  the 
approaching  canoe,  the  gleaming  silver  of  their  shapely 
sides. 

The  sight  of  these  beautiful  fish  greatly  excited  Jack, 
and  several  times  he  struck  at  them  with  his  paddle, 
but  always  miscalculated  the  distance,  and  could  never 
feel  even  that  he  had  touched  a  fish.  At  length  he 
called  out :  "  Mr.  Fannin,  can't  we  stop  here  and  try 
to  catch  some  of  these  fish?  They  are  so  big  and 
splendid  that  I  want  to  get  hold  of  one." 

"  Oh,"  said  Fannin,  with  a  laugh,  "  wait  a  bit.  You 
are  going  to  a  place  where  you  '11  see  a  hundred  for 
one  that  you  see  now." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  rather  grumblingly,  half  to  him- 
self and  half  to  Hugh,  ''  I  suppose  he  is  right,  but  it 
seems  as  if  we  might  stop  right  here  and  catch  some 
of  them.  The  sight  of  these  fish  is  enough  to  make  any 
man  a  fisherman  right  off." 

Again  he  called  out :  "  Do  you  think  we  will  be  able 
to  catch  any  fish  to-night?" 

"Yes,"  said  Fannin;  "I  think  that  with  the  spear 
or  the  gaff  we  ought  to  get  all  we  want." 

"  But  just  think,"  said  Jack,  "  what  fun  it  would  be 
to  catch  one  of  these  with  a  rod.  It  looks  to  me  as  if 
they  would  break  any  tackle  that  we  have." 

"  No,"  said  Fannin,  "  you  can't  catch  them  on  a 
hook  when  they  get  into  the  fresh  water.  I  thought  I 
had  told  you  that  before.  The  salmon  in  fresh  water 
will  not  take  a  hook.  They  will  take  one  in  the  salt 
water,  but  as  soon  as  they  enter  the  river,  no.  I  '11 
tell  you  about  that  to-night  when  we  get  into  camp." 

After  several  hours'  work  the  canoe  reached  a  point 
in  the  river  where  there  was  a  high  jam  of  drift  logs, 


JACK    MEETS    A    SEAL    PIRATE  221 

which  it  was  impossible  to  pass.  The  sticks  of  the 
jam  were  too  large  to  be  chopped  through,  and  the 
canoe  was  far  too  large  to  be  carried  about  the  jam 
to  a  point  farther  up  the  river;  besides,  it  was  well 
on  toward  sundown.  Camp  was  made  therefore  on  a 
smooth  sandbar  just  below  the  jam,  and  in  a  short 
while  the  spot  had  assumed  a  comfortable,  home-like 
appearance.  On  the  shore  of  the  river  was  a  rather 
neatly  built  shed,  which  had  evidently  been  recently 
occupied  by  Indian  fishermen.  This  served  as  a  store- 
house for  provisions  and  the  mess  kit,  and  a  sleeping 
place  for  Charlie  and  the  Indians.  A  little  farther  up 
the  stream  was  placed  the  white  tent  fly,  closed  at  the 
back  with  an  old  sail  and  in  front  with  a  mosquito 
netting.  Near  the  storehouse  a  cheery  fire  crackled 
against  an  old  cedar  log,  and  on  the  beach,  farther 
down,  drawn  out  of  the  water,  was  the  canoe. 

After  dinner  was  over,  and  when  they  were  sittirj 
about  the  fire.  Jack,  whose  mind  was  still  full  of  the 
salmon  he  had  seen,  addressed  Fannin.  "  Now,  Mr. 
Fannin,  what  more  can  you  tell  me  about  the  salmon 
not  taking  bait  in  the  fresh  water  ?  I  believe  you  spoke 
to  me  about  it  when  we  saw  our  first  salmon,  but  I 
have  forgotten  what  you  said." 

'^  Well,"  said  Fannin,  "  I  can't  tell  you  why  they 
do  not  feed  in  fresh  water,  but  all  fishermen  say  that 
they  do  not,  and  it  is  certain  that  none  of  them  are 
caught  on  a  hook  after  they  begin  to  run  up  a  stream. 
Down  in  California,  where  the  rivers  are  all  muddy, 
people  explain  their  refusal  to  feed  by  saying  that  in 
those  waters  the  fish  cannot  see  the  fly  or  bait,  and  so 
do  not  take  it ;  but  such  an  explanation  will  not  answer 
for  a  clear-water  stream  such  as  the  one  w^e  are  on. 
You  must  have  noticed  that  the  water  here  to-day  was 
as  pure  and  clear  as  in  any  trout  stream  you  ever 
fished." 

".  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  I  don't  see  how  anything  could 


222        JACK   THE    YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

be  clearer  than  this  water ;  and  I  am  sure  the  fish  could 
see  the  bait  or  a  fly." 

*'  Yes,"  said  Fannin,  ''  they  certainly  could ;  and  if 
they  wanted  a  fly  they  would  rise  to  it.  There  's  a 
man  down  here  at  Moody's  Mills  who  is  a  great  fisher- 
man, and  he  has  fished  in  these  streams  for  trout  and 
salmon  for  fourteen  years.  He  says  that  in  all  that 
time  he  has  hooked  a  salmon  only  twice,  and  he  be- 
lieves in  each  of  these  cases  the  fish  accidentally  fouled 
the  hook.  No ;  when  the  fish  get  into  the  fresh  water, 
they  seem  to  forget  everything  except  their  desire  to 
get  up  to  the  head  of  the  water  and  spawn." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  Eastern  salmon  come  into  the 
stream  to  spawn  just  as  these  fish  do.  They  also  try 
to  get  to  the  heads  of  the  rivers  for  this  one  purpose; 
yet  we  all  know  that  the  fishermen  go  salmon  fishing, 
and  expect  to  catch  salmon  on  the  Atlantic  coast  just 
at  the  time  that  the  fish  are  running  up  the  river,  and 
we  know  that  they  do  catch  them,  big  ones,  running, 
I  believe,  up  to  thirty-five  or  forty  pounds." 

"  Well,"  said  Fannin,  ''  I  know  that  is  true,  and  I 
don't  know  just  why  there  should  be  such  a  difference 
in  the  fish  of  the  two  coasts ;  but  I  believe  that  it  exists. 
Some  day,  very  likely,  we  will  be  able  to  explain  it; 
but  I  can't  do  it  now,  and  I  don't  believe  I  know  any- 
body who  can." 

The  next  morning  Jack  and  Hugh  were  up  long 
before  breakfast,  and  were  talking  about  the  difference 
between  the  surroundings  of  this  camp  and  those  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed  for  the  last  few  weeks. 
Ever  since  their  departure  from  Nanaimo  they  had 
spent  practically  all  their  time  on  the  water  or  on  the 
seashore;  and,  except  in  a  few  cases,  had  hardly  been 
a  hundred  yards  from  the  beach.  The  present  camp, 
therefore,  had  about  it  something  that  was  new.  They 
could  not  hear  the  soft  ripple  of  the  beach  or  the 
roar  of  the  great  waves  pounding  unceasingly  against 


JACK    MEETS    A    SEAL    PIRATE         223 

the  unyielding  cliff.  The  water  which  hurried  by  the 
camp  was  sweet  and  fresh.  All  about  them  were  green 
forests,  whose  pale  gray  tree  trunks  shone  like  spectres 
among  the  dark  leaves.  The  birds  of  the  w^oods  moved 
here  and  there  among  the  branches  or  came  down  to 
the  water's  edge  to  drink  or  bathe.  Except  for  the 
canoe,  and  but  for  the  character  of  the  rocks,  they 
might  have  imagined  themselves  on  some  mountain 
stream,  a  thousand  miles  from  the  seacoast. 

Said  Jack  to  his  companion :  "  We  have  had  lots  of 
surprises  on  this  trip,  Hugh,  and  this  camp  is  one  of 
the  greatest  of  them." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  know  just  what  you  mean. 
It  seems  mighty  pleasant  here  to  be  in  the  timber  with 
that  creek  running  by ;  and  yet  I  don't  know  but  I  like 
the  open  sea  better,  where  a  man  has  a  chance  to  look 
about  and  see  what  is  near  him." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  we  certainly  have  seen  lots  of 
different  country  on  this  trip,  and  I  wish  we  were  just 
starting  out  instead  of  just  getting  in." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  believe  I  feel  a  little  that 
way  myself;  though,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  shan't  be  sorry 
to  get  back  to  a  country  where  there  are  horses,  and 
w^here  a  man  can  look  a  long  way  around  and  see 
things." 

"  Oh,  Hugh ! "  said  Jack,  interrupting  the  talk, 
"  look  at  those  little  dippers  there !  Let 's  go  and 
watch  them." 

They  strolled  to  the  edge  of  the  beach  and  there 
saw  a  number  of  the  queer  little  birds.  They  were,  as 
usual,  bowing,  nodding,  and  working  their  wings,  or 
tumbling  into  the  water,  disappearing  there  to  come  to 
the  surface  again  some  distance  away,  when  they 
would  rise  on  the  wing  and  fly  to  the  beach  or  to 
some  almost  submerged  boulder  in  the  current.  ^  Some 
of  them  were  walking  along  the  shore,  from  time  to 
time  stopping  and  nodding  as  if  to  their  shadows  in 


224        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

the  water;  or  again  taking  their  flight  from  point  to 
point  near  the  Httle  stretch  of  beach  that,  upon  ex- 
amination, appeared  barren  of  food.  Sometimes  one 
of  the  birds  would  bring  up  out  of  the  water  some 
Httle  insect  or  worm,  which  it  would  beat  against  the 
stones  and  then  devour.  Jack  and  Hugh  watched  them 
for  some  time,  but  presently  the  coming  of  others  to 
the  border  of  the  stream  disturbed  the  dippers,  and  they 
flew  away  up  or  down  the  stream.  They  did  not 
particularly  mind  being  looked  at  by  two  men,  but 
they  thought  that  five  were  too  many,  and  they  all 
disappeared. 

At  breakfast  it  was  suggested  that  they  should  take 
a  short  trip  on  foot  up  the  stream  to  see  what  the 
river  would  offer.  They  were  crossing  the  jam  when 
Hugh's  keen  eye  detected  a  movement  in  the  water 
beneath  them.  Kneeling  down  on  the  floating  logs 
they  were  astonished  to  see  that  the  deep  pool  beneath 
the  jam  was  full  of  salmon.  They  all  stretched  out 
at  full  length  on  the  logs  and  stared  down  into  the 
clear  water  beneath  them.  Through  the  openings  be- 
tween the  logs  every  movement  of  the  shoal  of  great 
fish,  slowly  moving  about  but  a  few  feet  from  their 
faces,  could  be  seen.  The  water  was  beautifully  trans- 
parent, and  it  was  easy  to  distinguish  the  color  and 
form  of  each  fish.  The  humped  back  and  hooked  jaw 
of  the  most  fully  developed  males  could  be  readily  dis- 
tinguished, and  were  in  strong  contrast  with  the  slim 
and  graceful  forms  of  the  female  fish.  There  were 
probably  between  four  and  five  hundred  salmon  in  the 
pool,  which  was  not  a  very  large  one.  The  fish 
crowded  together  so  thickly  that  it  was  only  occasion- 
ally possible  to  see  the  pebbly  bottom.  It  was  not  long 
before  Jack  remembered  the  salmon  spear  in  the  canoe, 
and  soon  after  he  had  thought  of  it,  he  and  one  of  the 
Indians  started  back  to  get  it.  The  salmon  were  so 
close  together  in  the  pool  and  seemed  so  near  to  the 


JACK    MEETS    A    SEAL    PIRATE  225 

surface  of  the  water  that  he  thought  that  the  spear 
could  not  be  thrust  down  into  the  slow  moving  mass 
without  transfixing  one  or  two  of  them. 

When  the  spear  was  finally  brought  to  the  log  jam 
each  one  of  the  company  secretly  wished  to  be  the 
first  to  catch  a  salmon,  yet  each  was  too  polite  to  say 
what  he  wished,  and  they  passed  the  implement  from 
hand  to  hand,  asking  each  other  to  make  the  first 
attempt.  Fannin  and  Hugh  seemed  to  want  Jack  to 
make  the  first  attempt,  but  he  declined  flatly  and  said : 
''  You  ought  to  do  it,  Mr.  Fannin,  because  you  are 
more  skilful  than  either  of  us,  but  if  you  don't  want  to 
do  it  let  Hugh  try  his  hand;  he  is  the  oldest  person 
present." 

Hugh  also  declined  with  great  promptness  and  posi- 
tiveness,  but  was  at  length  prevailed  to  take  the  spear. 
He  lay  down  on  the  logs  wdth  his  face  close  to  an 
opening,  into  which  he  introduced  the  points  of  the 
spear,  lowering  it  through  the  pellucid  water  until  the 
end  of  the  shaft  was  in  his  hands  and  he  had  fitted 
his  fingers  into  the  notches  cut  there.  Then  he  watched 
until  he  saw  a  fish  precisely  under  him,  and  made  a 
forcible  thrust,  driving  the  spear  deep  down  into  the 
water  and  causing  a  little  flurry  among  the  salmon, 
which  moved  their  tails  a  little  and  then  darted  away. 
Then  Hugh  arose  with  a  mortified  look  and  said : 
"  Well,  I  thought  I  had  one  that  time,  but  it  seems  not. 
You  fellows  will  have  to  try  your  hands  now." 

Fannin  was  the  next  to  make  a  thrust,  and  made 
half  a  dozen  without  effect.  The  fish  did  not  even 
dodge  the  strokes,  but  each  time  the  spear  w^ent  down 
toward  them  there  w^as  a  general  quivering  of  the 
whole  school,  as  if  each  fish  had  started  a  little.  The 
thrower  of  the  implement  looked  at  them  with  a  some- 
what perplexed  expression,  and  said :  "  It  certainly 
seemed  to  me  as  if  that  spear  went  through  the  whole 
school."     When  he  had  recovered  the  spear  he  passed 

15 


226        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

to  Jack  and  told  him  to  try  his  hand,  but  Jack's  luck 
was  no  better  than  that  of  his  companions.  To  him,  as 
he  lay  on  his  face  looking  down  into  the  pool,  shadowed 
by  the  log  jam,  the  depth  of  the  water  seemed  to  be 
about  five  or  six  feet,  yet  as  he  thrust  his  spear  into 
it  and  it  passed  down  toward  the  fish,  the  handle  being 
in  his  hand,  he  could  see  that  the  points  were  still  quite 
a  long  distance  above  the  backs  of  the  fish,  and  no 
matter  how  hard  he  threw  the  spear,  it  created  but 
little  disturbance.  Hugh,  Jack,  and  Fannin  were  now 
stretched  out  at  different  points  on  the  log  jam,  gazing 
at  the  fish  beneath  them.  For  some  time  they  did  not 
realize  where  the  difficulty  lay,  and  now  and  then  one  of 
them  would  say :  ''  Oh,  please  let  me  have  the  spear  for 
just  a  minute;  they  are  so  thick  here  that  I  know  I 
can't  help  catching  one  if  I  only  thrust  it  at  them." 
But  all  thrusts  were  futile.  At  last,  going  ashore,  and 
cutting  a  slender  pole  more  than  twenty  feet  in  length, 
the  depth  of  the  water  was  measured,  and  it  appeared 
that  the  spear  was  far  too  short  to  reach  the  fish.  The 
excitement  was  too  great  to  leave  things  in  this  condi- 
tion and  return  to  camp,  so  Hugh  and  Fannin  soon 
added  six  or  eight  feet  to  the  length  of  the  salmon  spear 
and  besides  made  a  long  gaff.  With  these  two  imple- 
ments they  returned  to  the  pool,  and  found  no  diffi- 
culty in  catching  salmon  enough  to  supply  the  table. 

All  along  the  river,  which  they  followed  up  for  sev- 
eral miles,  they  found  great  numbers  of  salmon,  and 
with  the  salmon  were  a  great  many  trout,  some  of 
them  of  very  large  size.  Fannin  explained  that  these 
fish  followed  up  the  salmon  to  feed  on  the  spawn  as 
it  was  deposited.  He  declared  that  while  the  salmon 
were  running  the  trout  would  pay  no  attention  to  a 
fly.  Certain  it  was  that  all  Jack's  efforts  to  get  a  trout 
to  rise  to  the  fly  were  unsuccessful. 

The  evening  after  the  day  they  had  reached  this 
camp  they  discussed  the  question  as  to  whether  they 


JACK    MEETS    A    SEAL    PIRATE  227 

should  climb  the  mountains  and  have  another  goat 
hunt.  After  a  little  discussion  it  was  decided  to  do  so ; 
but  the  next  morning  when  they  got  up  they  found 
that  it  was  raining  heavily.  It  rained  continuously 
during  the  day  until  noon,  when  they  regretfully  broke 
camp,  and  paddled  down  the  Inlet  to  Hastings,  where 
they  paid  off  and  dismissed  the  Indians  and  their  canoe. 
The  unemotional  savages  shook  hands  calmly  with 
their  companions  of  the  last  month.  They  arranged 
in  the  canoe  their  blankets  and  provisions  and  the 
few  cooking  utensils  which  had  been  given  them,  and 
then  paddled  off  down  the  Inlet  and  were  soon  out  of 
sight,  bound  for  Nanaimo. 

A  day  or  two  later  the  travellers  started  for  New 
Westminster,  to  return  to  Victoria.  Jack  and  Hugh 
were  loath  to  part  with  Fannin,  and  they  persuaded 
him  to  go  with  them  on  the  stage  as  far  as  the  town 
and  to  see  the  last  of  them  when  they  took  the  steamer 
back  to  the  island. 

The  next  morning  all  three  boarded  the  stage,  and, 
after  a  delightful  ride  through  the  great  forest  of  the 
peninsula,  they  found  themselves  once  more  in  New 
Westminster  and  shaking  hands  with  Mr.  James. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

MILLIONS    OF    SALMON 

Mr.  James  gave  to  Jack  a  number  of  letters  which 
had  come  to  Victoria  for  him  and  then  been  forwarded 
to  New  Westminster.  They  were  the  usual  home 
letters  which  he  read  with  great  delight,  and,  besides 
these,  one  from  his  uncle,  Mr.  Sturgis,  which  told  him 
that  he  had  been  detained  at  the  mine  and  would  not 
be  able  to  meet  Jack  at  Tacoma  for  at  least  two  weeks. 

Mr.  Sturgis  advised  his  nephew  to  spend  the  time 
in  British  Columbia  and  to  allow  himself  two  or  three 
days  to  get  from  Victoria  to  Tacoma,  where  they 
would  meet.  Hugh  also  had  received  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Sturgis,  the  purport  of  which  was  the  same,  and 
the  two  began  to  discuss  the  question  as  to  how  the 
next  ten  days  were  to  be  spent. 

When  they  had  reached  New  Westminster  Mr. 
James  had  urged  them  to  take  two  or  three  days'  trip 
with  him  up  the  Fraser  River  on  the  steamboat, 
partly  to  see  the  scenery,  but  chiefly  to  get  to  the  end 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  railroad  which  was  then  being 
built  east  and  west.  The  western  end  started  at  the 
town  of  Yale.  The  distance  by  steamer  was  not  great, 
though  the  swift  current  of  the  Fraser  is  so  strong 
that  progress  up  the  stream  is  not  very  rapid.  This 
invitation  Hugh  and  Jack  now  determined  to  accept, 
but  as  the  salmon  fishing  was  just  at  its  height,  they 
wished  to  spend  a  day  investigating  that. 

In  those  days  it  used  to  be  said  that  every  fourth 
year  the  run  of  salmon  was  very  great.  The  next  year 
the  number  of  fish  taken  would  be  smaller,  the  next 


MILLIONS    OF    SALMON  229 

still  smaller;  then  the  number  would  increase  again 
until  the  fourth  year,  when  there  would  be  a  great  run. 
As  it  happened,  the  year  of  Jack's  visit  was  one  of 
the  years  of  plenty.  A  great  run  was  looked  for,  but 
up  to  the  middle  of  July  no  fish  had  been  taken,  though 
for  a  week  previous  the  boats  had  been  drifting  for 
them.  The  fishermen,  however,  were  not  discouraged, 
for  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  were  constantly  seen 
great  numbers  of  small  black-headed  gulls,  oolichan 
gulls,  so  called,  which  Jack  recognized  as  Bonaparte 
gulls. 

Long  before  they  returned  to  New  Westminster 
salmon  had  begun  to  be  taken  in  considerable  numbers, 
the  first  catch  being  made  about  the  last  of  July.  The 
run  kept  increasing  slowly  until  before  their  return  to 
New  Westminster  it  had  become  impossible  for  the 
canneries  to  use  all  the  fish  caught,  and  a  portion  of  the 
boats  were  taken  off.  Early  in  August  the  catch  was 
from  seventy-five  thousand  to  eighty  thousand  fish 
per  day,  though  only  one  half  of  the  boats  were  em- 
ployed. The  canneries  were  all  running  at  their  fullest 
capacity  and  the  enormous  catch  w^as  the  talk  of  the 
town. 

The  next  morning  soon  after  breakfast  Mr.  James 
called  for  his  friends,  and  a  little  later  they  started  out 
to  visit  one  of  the  canneries  in  order  to  get  some  idea 
of  the  method  by  which  one  of  the  chief  sources  of 
wealth  of  the  Province  was  handled. 

On  their  way  down  to  the  wharf,  Mr.  James  talked 
interestingly  on  the  subject.  ''  The  fish,"  he  explained, 
"  are  all  caught  in  ordinary  drift  gill  nets  which  are 
cast  off  from  the  boats  in  the  usual  manner,  and  are 
allowed  to  drift  down  the  stream  with  the  current, 
meeting  the  advancing  salmon  which  are  swarming 
up  the  river.  The  other  day  I  got  from  Ewing's 
cannery  the  record  of  the  catch  of  a  few  of  the  boats, 
on  one  or  two  average  days.     For  example,  on  Au- 


230        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

gust  ninth  five  boats  took  nine  hundred  and  seventy 
fish;  the  same  day  six  boats  took  one  thousand  six 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  fish.  On  August  tenth,  six 
boats  took  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  ninety-two 
fish,  and  on  August  eleventh  six  boats  took  one  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  thirty-eight  fish." 

"  Now,  these  fish,"  Mr.  James  went  on,  "  are  chiefly 
sock-eyes,  and  average  from  eight  to  ten  pounds  in 
weight,  but  among  them  are  a  .good  many  '  Spring 
salmon,'  which  the  books  call  quinnat,  and  these  run 
from  fifty  up  to  seventy  and  eighty  and  even  a  hundred 
pounds.  These  records  I  have  just  given  you  give 
an  average  of  about  two  hundred  and  forty-four  fish 
to  the  boat,  or  rather  more  than  two  thousand  pounds. 
Now,  of  course,  the  boats  cannot  take  up  their  nets  and 
make  long  journeys  to  the  wharves  to  unload  their 
fish.  That  would  be  an  unnecessary  waste  of  time, 
and  would  not  pay,  so  that  at  all  hours  of  the  day 
and  night  steamers  patrol  the  river,  collecting  from 
the  row  boats  that  do  the  drifting  the  fish  they  have 
netted.  When  a  steamer  gets  a  load  she  comes  and 
ties  up  at  the  wharf  and  there  unloads  her  fish.  You 
will  see  them  presently  now,  for  here  is  where  we 
turn  in." 

Leaving  the  main  street  they  turned  down  an  alley 
and  entered  a  loosely  put  up  wooden  building,  from 
which  came  a  strong  odor  of  fish  which  showed  it  to  be 
a  cannery.  Mr.  James  pushed  through  the  building 
without  stopping  until  they  reached  the  wharf  where 
they  saw  a  tug  tied  up.  Great  piles  of  shapely  glitter- 
ing fish  were  lying  on  her  deck,  and  working  over 
them  were  men  with  poles,  in  the  end  of  each  of  which 
was  a  spike.  Each  man  on  the  deck  pierced  a  fish 
with  the  spike  on  his  pole  and  threw  it  up  on  the 
wharf  where  lay  a  great  pile  of  its  fellows.  They 
threw  out  the  fish  just  as  a  farmer  would  throw  hay 
out  of  a  wagon  with  a  pitchfork. 


MILLIONS    OF    SALMON  231 

Hugh  and  Jack  had  never  seen  so  many  fish  before, 
and  for  a  httle  while  were  almost  stunned  by  their 
mass.  No  one  paid  any  attention  to  them,  but  each 
person  went  on  with  his  or  her  work.  At  one  end  of 
the  pile  stood  a  couple  of  Indians  who  were  taking 
fish  from  the  wharf,  and  throwing  them  one  by  one 
into  a  large  tub  of  clear  water.  Immediately  next  to 
this  tub  stood  a  row  of  tables  at  which  were  people 
armed  with  long  knives.  A  woman  next  to  the  tub 
reached  down,  got  a  fish  from  it,  placed  it  on  the  table 
before  her  and  removed  the  head,  sliding  the  fish 
along  to  a  man  next  to  her,  who,  by  a  single  motion 
of  his  knife  removed  the  entrails  and  cut  off  the  fins 
and  tail.  The  fish,  thrust  again  along  the  table,  fell 
into  a  tub  of  clean  water  and  was  washed  by  an  atten- 
dant. Thrown  on  an  adjacent  cutting  table,  it  was 
passed  along  to  a  cam,  armed  with  knives  about  four 
inches  apart,  which  was  constantly  revolving,  thus 
cutting  the  fish  into  lengths.  The  pieces  were  then 
placed  in  the  tin  cans  which  were  filled  up  even-full. 

Jack  and  Hugh  stared  at  these  different  processes 
which  went  on  without  a  pause.  It  seemed  as  if  each 
operator  might  be  a  machine.  Each  one  performed 
a  certain  task  and  only  that,  and  beyond  that  did  noth- 
ing but  shove  each  fish  along,  then  reach  back  and 
take  another.  The  knives,  it  seemed,  always  fell  in  the 
same  place,  and  cut  off  the  same  parts  with  the  same 
precision.  It  was  a  rising  and  falling  of  arms  and 
knives,  in  the  preparation  of  a  food  which  was  soon  to 
be  distributed  all  over  the  globe. 

At  length  they  reached  the  cutting  table.  "  Here," 
said  Mr.  James,  "  you  can  see  how  systematically  the 
thing  is  done.  It  is  n't  enough  that  the  fish  should  be 
cut  into  pieces,  but  it  must  be  cut  into  sizes  that  are 
just  about  long  enough  to  fill  the  can  so  that  as  few 
motions  as  possible  need  be  gone  through  with  to  get 
the  can  level  full." 


2Z2        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

"There!  do  you  see!"  he  went  on,  pointing  to  a 
Chinaman,  who  with  two  or  three  motions  of  his  right 
hand  filled  a  can,  just  even-full;  and  then  slid  it  along 
the  table  to  a  man  next  to  him,  who  slipped  on  it  the 
circular  cover  of  tin  and  passed  this  on  to  the  next 
man,  who  was  handling  a  soldering  iron  and  a  bit  of 
solder.  In  but  a  second,  as  it  seemed  to  Jack,  the 
soldering  of  the  can  was  finished,  and  then  with  a 
push  the  can  went  on  to  join  those  which  were  being 
bunched  up  by  the  Chinamen,  and  placed  in  a  shallow 
tray  made  of  strap  iron.  When  this  tray  was  full  a 
hook  on  the  end  of  a  chain  running  down  from  a  travel- 
ler near  the  ceiling  was  hooked  into  a  ring  attached 
to  chains  running  to  the  four  corners  of  the  tray,  the 
tray  was  lifted,  and  run  along  the  traveller  a  short 
distance  until  it  stood  over  a  vat  of  boiling  water. 
It  was  then  dropped  into  this,  hung  there  for  a  few 
moments ;  and  then,  rising  again,  moved  a  little  farther 
along  the  traveller,  and  descended  on  a  table.  By  this 
table  stood  a  Chinaman,  holding  a  small  wooden  mallet 
with  which  he  tapped  each  can. 

"  You  see,"  said  Mr.  James,  "  the  expansion  of  the 
contents  of  the  can  under  heat  makes  the  cover  bulge, 
and  when  the  Chinaman  taps  it  with  the  mallet  he  can 
tell  at  once  by  the  sound,  whether  the  solder  is  per- 
fectly tight  or  not.  If,  when  the  mallet  strikes  it,  the 
cover  yields  much,  he  knows  that  there  is  an  escape 
for  the  air  and  the  can  is  thrown  out.  There,  see  him 
throw  that  one  out  ?  When  the  Chinaman  taps  the  cans 
it  seems  as  if  he  were  paying  little  attention  to  the 
work,  but  when  a  defective  can  comes  along  he  detects 
it  at  once  and  casts  it  aside,  just  as  he  did  that  one." 
This  happened  to  be  the  only  one  rejected  of  this  lot, 
and  the  operator  at  once  reversed  his  mallet  and  began 
to  tap  them  over  again." 

*'  What  is  he  doing  now,  Mr.  James  ?  "  asked  Jack. 
"Is  he  going  over  them  again?" 


MILLIONS    OF    SALMON 


235 


"No,"  said  Mr.  James;  "look  closely  at  the  mallet 
and  you  will  see  that  he  has  reversed  it;  and  in  this 
end  of  the  mallet  there  is  a  little  tack.  Each  time  he 
strikes  a  can  he  punctures  it,  allowing,  as  you  see,  air, 
water,  and  steam  to  escape.  As  soon  as  this  is  done, 
the  other  workmen,  with  their  soldering  irons  seal  up 
these  little  bits  of  holes,  and  the  work  is  done.  Now 
the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  label  the  cans,  box  them,  and 
ship  them  to  the  markets." 

"  How  many  fish  do  they  put  up  here  in  a  day,  Mr. 
James?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  About  five  hundred  cases,"  said  Mr.  James.  "  It 's 
a  lot,  isn't  it?" 

"  I  should  say  so,"  said  Jack,  "  it  makes  my  head 
swim  to  think  of  it,  and  that  is  being  done  all  along 
the  river,  is  n't  it?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  James.  "  It  is,  and  it  keeps  up  for 
weeks  and  sometimes  for  months.  The  run  of  sock- 
eye  salmon  usually  lasts  from  four  to  six  weeks,  and 
during  that  time  the  factories  run  from  four  in  the 
morning  to  seven  or  eight  at  night ;  and  the  work  goes 
on  constantly,  Sundays  as  well  as  week  days." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh ;  "  I  don't  see  how  there  are  any 
salmon  left  in  the  river.  I  should  think  you  would 
catch  them  all.  There  must  be  a  lot  of  factories  just 
like  this  all  along  the  river;  what  becomes  of  the 
people  living  farther  up  the  stream  ?  " 

"  I  can't  answer  that  very  well,  myself,"  said  Mr. 
James,  "  except  that  I  know  that  there  are  plenty  of 
them.  Here  comes  a  man,  though,  who  can  tell  you. 
He  is  an  old  fisherman,  and  has  been  in  the  canning 
business  for  years.  Oh,  Mclntyre!"  he  called  out 
to  a  raw-boned,  weather-beaten  man  who  passed  not 
far  from  them.  Mr.  Mclntyre  looked  at  him,  came 
over,  and  was  introduced  to  Hugh  and  Jack  as  the 
proprietor  of  the  cannery.  He  was  glad  to  see  them, 
and  readily  talked  about  salmon  and  salmon  canning. 


234        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

"  Mr.  Johnson,  here,"  said  Mr.  James,  *'  was  won- 
dering that  there  were  any  salmon  left  in  the  river  for 
the  people  who  live  above  here.  He  thinks  you  are 
catching  them  all." 

Mr.  Mclntyre  laughed  loudly  as  he  replied :  "  Oh, 
not  all  of  them;  there  are  a  few  that  get  up.  You 
see,  this  year  we  have  not  been  able  to  use  all  the  fish 
we  caught,  and  we  have  taken  off  one  half  the  boats.  I 
don't  believe  that  one  fish  is  caught  out  of  ten  thousand 
that  enter  the  river.  Everybody  between  here  and 
the  head  of  the  river  captures  all  the  fish  he  wants, 
and  in  the  autumn  you  will  see  fish  that  have  spawned 
and  died,  floating  down  the  river  by  the  million.  Of 
course,  I  don't  know  how  many  are  taken  here,  but 
I  fancy  more  than  two  million  or  two  and  a  half  million 
fish.  The  Indians  all  the  way  up  the  river  have  no 
trouble  whatever  in  catching  all  they  want.  If  you 
should  go  up  the  river  you  would  see  their  camps  along 
the  shore,  and  you  would  see,  too,  that  they  were  catch- 
ing many  fish." 

"  How  do  they  catch  them,  Mr.  Mclntyre  ?  "  asked 
Jack. 

"  They  catch  them  chiefly  in  purse  nets ;  scooping 
them  up  out  of  the  water,  just  as  fast  as  the  net  can 
be  swept." 

"  You  ought  to  take  them  up  the  river,  Charlie,"  he 
added,  turning  to  Mr.  James,  "  and  let  them  see  what 
goes  on  between  here  and  Yale." 

"That's  just  what  I  am  trying  to  do,"  said  Mr. 
James.  "  I  want  to  get  them  to  go  up  with  me  and 
I  hope  perhaps  we  can  start  to-morrow." 

Much  time  was  spent  at  the  cannery,  for  Jack  and 
Hugh  did  not  seem  to  tire  of  watching  the  swift,  cer- 
tain, and  never-ending  movements  that  went  on  here  for 
hours  until  the  whistle  blew  for  noon.  Then,  indeed, 
they  reluctantly  left  the  factory  and  returned  to  the 
hotel. 


MILLIONS    OF    SALMON  235 

It  must  be  remembered  that  all  this  occurred  some 
twenty-five  years  ago,  and  that  since  that  time  won- 
derful changes  have  taken  place  in  the  methods  and 
operations  of  salmon  canning.  This  is  merely  an 
account  of  what  Jack  saw  when  he  visited  New 
Westminster. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

FISHING   WITH    A   SIWASH 

The  next  morning,  with  Mr.  James,  Jack  and  Hugh 
boarded  the  comfortable  steamer  which  was  to  take 
them  up  the  Fraser  to  the  town  of  Yale,  the  head  of 
navigation  of  the  lower  river.  Mr.  James  was  anxious 
to.  have  them  see  the  end  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
railroad,  of  which  all  the  residents  of  the  Province 
were  immensely  proud  at  that  time,  for  it  was  the 
first  railroad  that  had  been  built  in  British  Columbia. 
Incidentally  they  would  view  the  scenery  of  the  Fraser, 
and  would  see  many  other  interesting  things. 

Near  its  mouth  the  Fraser  is  very  muddy,  and  Hugh 
and  Jack  spoke  of  its  resemblance  in  this  respect  to  the 
Missouri,  with  which  they  were  so  familiar.  As  the 
steamer  ploughed  its  way  up  the  river  the  water  be- 
came less  and  less  turbid,  until,  when  Yale  was 
reached,  though  by  no  means  colorless,  it  had  lost  its 
muddy  appearance  and  was  beautifully  green.  The  cur- 
rent is  everywhere  rapid,  and  at  certain  points  where 
the  channel  is  narrow  the  water  rushes  between  the 
steep  banks  with  such  violence  that  at  times  it  seemed 
doubtful  whether  the  vessel  could  overcome  its  force. 
At  such  points  Jack  and  Hugh  were  always  interested 
in  watching  the  struggle,  and  noting  by  points  on  the 
bank  the  slow  but  steady  passage  which  the  vessel 
made  in  overcoming  the  force  of  the  water.  For  some 
distance  above  New  Westminster  the  river  is  broad 
and  flows  through  a  wide  alluvial  bottom  covered  with 
a  superb  growth  of  cotton-wood  trees ;   but  farther  up 


FISHING    WITH    A    SIWASH 


^Z7 


the  channel  is  narrow;  and  mountains  rise  on  either 
side,  not  very  high  but  very  steeply,  and  on  them  they 
saw  frequent  evidences  of  landslips  which  had  laid 
bare  long  stretches  of  dark  red  rock,  which  contrasted 
beautifully  with  the  green  of  the  forests. 

As  they  passed  along,  Mr.  James  pointed  out  one 
mountain  after  another,  and  told  of  the  silver  mines 
and  the  silver  prospects  that  had  been  found  on  each. 
In  many  places  along  the  river  were  seen  extensive 
stretches  of  barren  land  covered  with  cobblestones  and 
boulders  which  to  Jack  seemed  out  of  place  in  a  region 
where  vegetation  was  so  universal. 

''  Why  is  it,  Mr.  James,"  he  asked,  ''  that  nothing 
seems  to  grow  on  these  great  piles  of  pebbles  and 
cobblestones?  " 

''  Why,"  said  Mr.  James,  "  that  is  old  mining 
ground.  Many  of  these  gravel  bars  have  been  worked 
over  by  placer  miners;  and  these  piles  of  stones  were 
left  after  the  soil  and  fine  sand  had  been  washed  for 
the  gold  which  it  contained.  Many  of  these  bars  have 
been  worked  over  a  number  of  times,  and  all  of  them, 
twice.  Along  this  river  it  has  been  just  as  it  has  been 
back  in  the  States.  After  gold  was  discovered,  the 
white  man  first  went  over  the  ground  and  washed  the 
gravel,  getting  most  of  the  gold;  and  then,  after  he 
got  through,  the  Chinaman,  slow,  patient,  persistent, 
and  able  to  subsist  on  little  or  nothing,  went  over  the 
ground  again  and  found  in  the  abandoned  claims 
money  enough  to  pay  what  seemed  to  him  good  wages ; 
in  other  words  sufficient  to  give  him  a  living,  and 
enable  him  to  save  up  money  enough  to  take  him  back 
to  his  own  country,  where  he  lived  comfortably  for 
the  rest  of  his  life. 

"  I  am  no  miner,"  Mr.  James  continued,  ''  but  you 
must  talk  with  Hunter.  He  is  a  civil  engineer  with 
a  lot  of  experience,  and  I  saw  him  on  the  boat  this 
morning.     I  understand  that  he  has  a  mining  scheme 


238        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

which  is  big,  though,  of  course,  it  is  only  a  speculation 
as  yet." 

Mr.  James  stopped  talking  and  looked  about  the 
deck,  and  then  walked  over  to  a  tall,  thin  man  who 
was  standing  near  the  rail,  smoking.  After  speaking  to 
him,  the  two  came  to  where  Jack  and  Hugh  were 
sitting.  Introductions  followed,  and  after  a  little  time 
Mr.  Hunter  explained  what  it  was  that  he  proposed 
to  do. 

"  Quesnelle  Lake,"  he  said,  "  lies  away  north  of 
Yale  and  east  of  the  river,  in  a  country  where  some 
good  prospects  have  been  found.  From  the  Lake, 
Quesnelle  River  flows  into  the  Eraser.  The  bed  of 
Quesnelle  River  is  supposed  to  be  very  rich  in  gold. 
It  is  said  that  it  is  so  rich  that  the  Chinamen  anchor 
their  boats  in  the  river  and  dredge  the  dirt  from  the 
bottom,  take  it  ashore  and  wash  it,  and  in  this  way 
make  good  wages.  I  have  received  a  Dominion  grant 
to  mine  this  river,  or  so  much  of  it  as  I  can.  Of  course, 
as  yet,  this  is  a  mere  prospect,  but  I  am  going  up  there 
now  to  find  something  definite  about  it.  I  shall  have 
to  do  some  dredging  to  find  out  what  there  is  in  the 
bottom  of  the  river.  If  I  find  that  the  dirt  there  is 
rich  enough,  I  shall  build,  across  the  river  near  Ques- 
nelle Lake,  a  dam  strong  enough  to  hold  back  for  three 
or  six  months  of  the  year  —  during  the  dry  season,  in 
other  words  —  the  water  of  the  lake,  so  that  the  volume 
which  passes  through  the  river  channel  will  be  greatly 
diminished.  This  will  leave  bare  a  great  portion  of  the 
river  channel,  which  can  then  be  mined  by  ordinary 
hydraulic  processes.  As  I  say,  there  is  as  yet  nothing 
certain  about  the  matter,  but  there  seems  sufficient 
prospect  of  profit  in  it  to  make  it  worth  while  to  at- 
tempt it." 

"  That  seems  a  reasonable  scheme,"  said  Hugh, 
*'  though,  of  course,  as  yet  there  are  a  number  of 
'  ifs  '  to  it." 


FISHING   WITH    A    SIWASH 


239 


"  There  are  a  good  many,"  said  Mr.  Hunter;  "  but 
I  believe  that  in  the  course  of  the  next  three  months 
I  shall  know  much  more  about  it  than  I  do  now." 

"  I  believe,  Mr.  Hunter,"  said  Jack,  "  that  you  have 
travelled  a  great  deal  over  the  Province,  have  you 
not?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Hunter,  "  a  good  deal.  I  have 
been  over  the  whole  length  of  it  and  over  much  of  its 
width,  but  I  know  little  about  its  northwest  corner. 
There  I  never  happened  to  be;  but  from  the  Fraser 
and  Kootenay  rivers,  down  to  the  boundary  line  and 
all  along  the  western  part  of  the  Province,  I  have 
been." 

*'  Is  there  any  place  near  here,"  said  Jack,  "  where 
one  could  go  into  the  mountains  for  say  a  week  or  ten 
days,  with  a  prospect  of  getting  a  little  hunting?  I 
don't  mean  for  deer  and  goats,  because  I  suppose  these 
are  found  almost  everywhere,  but  with  some  pros- 
pect of  finding  sheep,  and  perhaps  elk  ?  I  believe  that 
bears  exist  everywhere,  and  of  course  the  meeting 
with  them  is  a  matter  of  luck." 

Mr.  Hunter  considered  for  a  moment  or  two,  and 
then  said :  "  Do  you  want  to  make  a  little  hunting  trip 
of  this  kind,  and  now  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  Mr.  Johnson,  here,  and  I  were 
thinking  of  doing  that." 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Hunter;  *' I  believe  I  know  just 
the  place  for  you.  It 's  only  a  short  distance  from 
Hope,  a  town  just  below  Yale,  on  the  river,  and  if 
you  can  get  started  at  once,  four  or  five  days  ought 
to  take  you  into  a  good  sheep  country,  where  there 
are  also  a  few  deer  and  goats.  You  could  have  three 
or  four  days  hunting  there,  and  could  get  back  to  take 
the  steamer  down  the  river  and  get  to  Westminster 
inside  of  two  weeks." 

"  That 's  a  little  bit  more  time  than  we  have  to  give 
to  the  trip,"   said  Jack,   ''  but  perhaps   we  could  do 


240        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

that,  and  perhaps  we  could  gain  a  day  or  two  in  the 
travelHng." 

''  Perhaps  you  might,"  said  Mr.  Hunter,  "  those 
things  depend  largely  upon  the  outfit  you  have  and 
chiefly  on  the  energy  of  the  man  who  runs  your  out- 
fit. If  you  get  somebody  who  is  a  rustler,  who  will 
get  you  up  every  morning  before  day  and  have  the 
train  on  the  march  before  the  sun  is  up,  and  travel 
all  day,  you  can  get  along  pretty  rapidly." 

'*  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  it  seems  to  be  a  matter  that 
depends  largely  upon  ourselves.  Son  and  I  are  fair 
packers,  and  if  we  can  get  horses  and  a  man  to  wrangle 
them  and  somebody  that  knows  the  road,  we  ought  to 
be  able  to  keep  them  moving." 

''  I  '11  tell  you  what  I  will  do,"  said  Mr.  Hunter. 
"  When  we  get  to  Yale  I  will  telegraph  to  an  acquaint- 
ance of  mine  in  Hope,  and  find  out  what  the  prospect 
is  of  getting  the  outfit  that  you  want." 

Hugh  and  Jack  both  thanked  Mr.  Hunter,  and  after 
some  inquiry  about  the  character  of  the  country  to  be 
traversed,  the  talk  turned  to  other  subjects.  It  was 
but  a  little  later  when  the  boat  began  to  pass  groups  of 
Indians  camping  along  the  shore ;  and  near  each  camp 
were  seen  the  drying  stages  on  which  they  were  cur- 
ing the  fish  that  they  took.  Horizontal  poles  were 
raised  five  or  six  feet  above  the  ground  and  these  were 
thickly  hung  with  the  red  flesh,  making  a  band  of 
bright  color  which  stood  out  in  bold  relief  against 
the  green  of  the  trees  and  the  cold  gray  of  the  rocks. 

Jack  and  Hugh  looked  at  these  camps  with  much 
interest. 

"  It  looks  some  like  a  little  camp  on  the  plains  when 
there  has  been  a  killing  and  the  meat  is  just  hung  up 
to  dry,  does  n't  it,  son  ?  "  remarked  Hugh. 

''  A  little,"  said  Jack,  "  but  I  cannot  separate  the 
camp  from  its  surroundings  of  mountains  and  timber 
and  big  water." 


FISHING   WITH   A    SIWASH  241 

"  No,"  said  Hugh,  "  that  is  hard  to  do,  but  of  course 
these  people  are  gathering  their  meat  and  drying  it 
just  as  our  Indians  gather  their  meat  and  dry  it." 

In  front  of  the  tents  and  shelters  in  which  the 
Indians  lived  down  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  were 
scaffolds  made  of  long  poles  thrust  into  the  rocks  and 
resting  on  other  rocks,  projecting  out  well  over  the 
water.  On  each  one  of  these  stood  one  or  more  In- 
dians engaged  in  fishing  with  a  hand  net  which  he 
swept  through  the  water,  just  as  had  been  described  the 
day  before  by  Mr.  Mclntyre.  To  see  it  actually  done 
made  the  operation  so  much  easier  to  understand 
than  when  it  had  been  simply  described.  The  Indians 
swept  their  nets  through  the  water  from  up  stream 
downward,  and  at  almost  every  sweep  the  net  brought 
up  a  fish,  which  the  man  took  from  it  with  his  left 
hand  and  threw  to  a  woman  standing  on  the  bank 
above  the  stream.  They  could  be  seen  to  perform 
some  operation  on  it,  and  sometimes  a  woman  with  an 
armful  of  fish  went  up  and  hung  them  on  the  drying 
scaffold. 

Mr.  Hunter  was  standing  by  them,  also  observing 
the  fishing,  and  Jack  said  to  him :  "  Mr.  Hunter, 
I  can't  see  clearly  enough  to  understand  just  what 
these  nets  are  and  how  they  are  worked.  Can  you 
explain  it  to  me?  " 

''  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Hunter.  "  It 's  very  simple,  and 
when  you  go  ashore  at  Yale,  you  will  be  able  to  see 
the  Indians  catch  fish  in  just  this  way,  and  you  can  see 
for  yourself  just  how  it  is  done.  You  know  what 
an  ordinary  landing  net  is,  don't  you  —  a  net  such  as 
we  use  for  trout?  " 

"  Yes,  of  course  I  do,"  said  Jack,  "  it 's  pretty  nearly 
what  we  call  a  scap  net  along  the  salt  water,  except 
that  it  is  not  so  large  or  so  coarse." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Hunter.  "  You  know  that  a  land- 
ing net   has   a  handle,   a  hoop,   to  which  the  net   is 

16 


242        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

attached,  and  a  large  net  hanging  down  below  the  hoop. 
Now  if  you  imagine  a  landing  net  four  or  five  times 
as  big  as  any  you  ever  saw,  you  will  have  an  idea  of 
the  general  appearance  of  one  of  these  purse  nets  when 
spread.  The  hoop  of  the  purse  net  is  oval  and  made 
of  a  round  stick,  the  branch  of  a  tree  bent  so  that  the 
hoop  is  about  four  feet  long  by  three  feet  broad.  This 
hoop  is  attached  to  a  long  handle.  Running  on  the 
stick,  which  forms  the  hoop,  are  a  number  of  wooden 
rings,  large  enough  to  run  freely.  The  net  is  attached 
to  these  small  wooden  rings,  and  if  the  handle  is  held 
vertically  the  weight  of  the  net  and  rings  will  bring 
all  the  rings  together  at  the  bottom  of  the  hoop,  so  that 
the  net  is  a  closed  bag.  Now  from  the  end  of  the 
handle  of  the  purse  net  a  string  runs  to  the  hoop  and 
is  attached  to  the  wooden  rings  that  run  on  it  in 
such  a  way  that  if  you  pull  on  the  string  the  little 
wooden  rings  spread  themselves  out  at  equal  distances 
all  around  the  hoop,  and  the  net  becomes  open,  just 
as  an  ordinary  landing  net  is  when  open.  As  the  In- 
dian is  about  to  sweep  the  net  to  try  to  catch  a  fish, 
he  pulls  the  string  which  spreads  the  net,  and  the  net 
is  then  swept  through  the  water  with  a  slow  motion. 
The  string  which  holds  it  open  passes  around  the  little 
finger  of  one  hand;  and  if  the  fisherman  feels  any- 
thing strike  against  the  net,  the  string  is  loosened,  the 
rings  run  together,  and  the  net  becomes  a  closed  bag 
which  securely  holds  the  object  within  it.  The  salmon, 
swimming  against  the  current,  pass  along  close  to  the 
steep  bank  where  the  force  of  the  water  is  least,  and 
the  eddies  help  them.  The  Indians  know  where  the 
salmon  pass,  and  sweep  their  nets  along  there  to  meet 
them;  and,  as  you  see,  catch  lots  of  fish." 

"  That  makes  it  just  as  clear  as  anything,"  said 
Jack,  "  and  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  telling 
me  about  it.  I  want  to  understand  these  things  that 
I  see,  and  sometimes  it  is  pretty  hard  to  do  so  without 


FISHING   WITH   A    SIWASH 


243 


an  explanation.  Now,  if  you  will  let  me,  there  is 
another  question  I  would  like  to  ask  you.  What  do 
the  women  do  in  preparing  the  salmon  for  drying?  I 
can  see  that  they  are  using  knives.  Do  they  just  cut 
off  the  head,  or  do  they  take  out  the  backbone?  " 

''  I  am  glad  you  asked  me  this  question,"  said  Mr. 
Hunter,  "  because  there  's  a  difference  in  the  way  the 
Indians  save  the  fish.  The  coast  Indians  just  cut  off 
the  head  and  remove  the  entrails,  but  these  Indians  up 
here  are  more  dainty;  I  suppose,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
they  are  more  primitive,  and  do  not  understand  the 
importance  of  collecting  all  the  food  they  can,  although 
they  ought  to  understand  that,  for  they  have  certainly 
starved  many  times  when  the  salmon  run  has  been  a 
poor  one.  Up  here,  the  Indians  only  save  the  belly 
of  the  fish.  By  a  single  slash  of  her  knife,  the  woman 
cuts  away  the  whole  belly  from  the  throat  back  to  a 
point  behind  the  anal  fins,  and  extending  up  on  the 
sides  to  where  the  soiid  flesh  begins.  This  portion 
is  retained  and  hung  up  to  dry.  The  whole  shoulders, 
back  and  tail  are  thrown  into  the  water  again.  There 
is  another  thing  that  I  believe  will  interest  you.  You 
see  these  stages  from  which  they  are  fishing?  Well, 
you  might  think  that  anybody  might  come  along  and 
build  a  stage  and  go  to  fishing,  or  that  whoever  came 
first  in  the  summer  to  one  of  these  stages  might  occupy 
it,  and  use  it  during  the  season,  but  that  is  n't  the  fact. 
These  stages  are  private  property,  or  rather  family 
property,  and  the  right  to  occupy  and  use  each  point 
descends  from  the  father  to  the  oldest  son  of  the 
family." 

^'  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  that 's  new  to  me.  I  never 
heard  of  anything  like  it.     Did  you,  Hugh?  " 

"  No,"  said  Hugh,  "  it 's  one  ahead  of  me." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Hunter,  ''  you  will  find  quite  a  lot 
of  customs  of  that  kind  along  this  coast.  Certain 
tribes  and  certain  families  have  the  right  to  hunt  or  fish 


244        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

in  certain  localities  and  it 's  a  right  that  is  universally 
respected  among  the  Indians.  A  man  would  no  more 
think  of  interfering  with  another  family's  fishing  stage 
or  trespassing  on  his  hunting  ground  than  he  would 
think  of  disturbing  a  cache  of  food  that  did  not  belong 
to  him." 

"  That 's  another  thing  I  had  not  heard  of,  Mr. 
Hunter,"  said  Jack ;  "  the  fact  that  the  Indians  have 
separate  special  places  where  they  have  the  right  to 
hunt  and  where  other  people  have  not  that  right." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  that 's  new  to  me,  and  would 
seem  quite  queer  to  anybody  in  our  country." 

"  What  is  your  country,  if  I  may  ask  ?  "  said  Mr. 
Hunter,  courteously. 

"  Why,"  said  Hugh,  "  son  and  I  have  been  for  the 
last  three  or  four  years  on  the  plains  and  in  the  moun- 
tains back  in  the  States." 

''Oh,  in  the  Rocky  Mountains?"  said  Mr.  Hunter. 

"Yes,"  said  Hugh. 

"  There,  of  course,  your  game  is  chiefly  buffalo, 
I  suppose,  and  they  wander  a  good  deal,  do  they  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  they  wander  some,  but  not  so 
much  as  most  people  think.  A  great  many  people  say 
that  in  summer  the  buffalo  all  go  north  and  in  winter 
they  all  go  down  south,  but  that 's  not  so.  There  are 
movements  of  the  herds  with  the  seasons,  but  they  are 
not  very  extensive." 

"  Mr.  Hunter,"  said  Jack,  taking  advantage  of  a 
moment's  pause,  "  I  have  heard  something  about  the 
caches  that  the  Indians  make  of  their  food,  but  I  have 
never  seen  one  in  this  country.  Will  you  tell  me 
how  they  arrange  them?  " 

"  Certainly,"  said  Mr.  Hunter.  "  These  Indians, 
here,  after  their  fish  have  dried,  pack  them  together; 
and  in  a  tree,  far  above  the  reach  of  animals  or  insects, 
they  build  something  that  you  might  call  a  little  house 
or  a  big  box,  in  which  they  store  the  food  and  leave  it 


FISHING    WITH    A    SIWASH 


245 


there  against  a  time  of  need.  The  house  or  box,  which- 
ever you  choose  to  call  it,  is  built  of  shakes,  that  is,  of 
thin  planks  split  from  the  cedar,  is  fairly  well  jointed, 
and  has  a  tight  and  slightly  sloping  roof  so  that  the 
moisture  cannot  get  into  it.  Usually  they  are  seen 
along  the  streams  or  near  favorite  camping  grounds, 
and  I  should  not  be  at  all  surprised  if  we  saw  one 
before  reaching  Yale.  They  are  quite  commonly 
seen." 

"  And  you  say,"  said  Jack,  ''  that  they  are  never 
disturbed  ?  " 

"  Absolutely  never,"  said  Mr.  Hunter.  "  Indians 
would  suffer  great  privations  before  taking  food  be- 
longing to  other  people,  because  they  know  to  take 
away  this  food  might  mean  starvation  to  the  owners. 
Of  course  if  an  absolutely  starving  outfit  of  Indians 
found  a  cache  they  might  take  from  it  a  little  food, 
perhaps  enough  to  carry  them  on  for  a  day  or  two 
along  their  road;  but  if  they  did,  they  would  leave 
some  sign  at  the  cache  to  say  who  had  taken  the  food, 
and  they  would  feel  bound,  at  some  later  day,  when- 
ever it  were  possible,  to  return  what  they  had  taken 
with  good  interest." 

By  this  time  the  day  was  weW  advanced,  and  a  little 
later  Mr.  Hunter  pointed  to  a  few  dilapidated  build- 
ings standing  near  the  river  and  said :  "  There  is  all 
that 's  left  of  the  town  of  Hope.  The  situation  is  a 
beautiful  one,  in  a  wide  bottom ;  but  there  is  no  life  in 
the  settlement.  It  is  from  this  point  on  the  river  that 
the  trail  starts  for  Kootenay  about  five  hundred  miles 
distant,  and  all  the  mail  and  express  matters  used  to 
leave  from  here.  The  town  was  founded  in  the  early 
days  of  the  mining  excitement,  when  it  was  thought 
that  the  diggings  of  the  Fraser  were  inexhaustible. 
People  used  to  think  that  this  would  be  a  great  town, 
and  there  was  an  active  speculation  in  building  lots, 
but  as  the  washing  on  the  lower  river  ceased  to  pay, 


246        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

the  tide  of  emigration  passed  on.  Hope  was  left  be- 
hind, and  the  owners  of  town  lots  will  have  to  wait  a 
long  time  for  their  money.  At  the  same  time,  when  the 
railroad  is  finished  it  will  of  course  pass  through  Hope 
or  near  it,  and  there  may  be  a  future  for  the  place ;  but 
that  will  depend  upon  agriculture  and  not  on  mining." 

A  little  later  in  the  day  the  steamer  tied  up  to  the 
bank  at  Yale.  It  was  quite  a  large  town,  spread  out  at 
the  foot  of  a  great  mountain,  and  it  seemed  to  have 
the  characteristics  of  all  western  railroad  towns.  It 
was  from  here  that  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad  was 
being  built  eastward,  and  Yale  was  thus  the  supply 
point  and  the  locality  where  all  the  laborers  employed 
on  the  road  congregated  during  holidays.  To  Jack 
the  place  seemed  as  cosmopolitan  almost  as  San  Fran- 
cisco. He  recognized  English,  Scotch,  and  French; 
and  noticed  some  Germans,  Swedes,  and  some  Amer- 
icans; Indians  and  Chinese  were  numerous,  and  ne- 
groes jostled  Mexican  packers  and  muleteers ;  while 
there  were  many  mixed  bloods  whose  parentage  could 
hardly  be  determined  from  their  countenances. 

Jack  learned  that  a  stage  ran  from  Yale  to  Lytton, 
where  the  river  is  again  practicable  for  steamers,  and 
that  this  was  the  route  taken  by  persons  going  to  the 
mines  at  Cariboo. 

Mr.  Hunter,  knowing  Jack's  interest  in  birds,  took 
him  to  see  a  taxidermist  who  had  a  considerable  col- 
lection of  bird  skins  brought  together  from  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood.  Here  he  saw  many  eastern  and 
western  birds,  the  most  interesting  of  which  were  the 
evening  grosbeak,  the  pine  grosbeak,  and  a  species  of 
gray  crowned  finch.  By  the  time  the  birds  had  been 
inspected  the  sun  had  set  and  they  returned  to  their 
quarters  at  the  hotel. 

Immediately  after  breakfast  next  morning,  Jack, 
Hugh,  and  Mr.  James  walked  along  the  railroad  two 
or  three  miles  up  the  river  and  into  the  caiion.     The 


FISHING   WITH    A    SIWASH  247 

scenery  was  very  beautiful.  The  walls  of  the  caiion 
were  nearly  vertical,  the  stream  tearing  along  between 
them  at  a  high  rate  of  speed.  Just  at  the  entrance  of 
the  canon  stands  a  high  rock  or  island,  which  divides 
the  current  into  two  streams  of  nearly  equal  size.  On 
a  flat  rock  they  all  sat  down,  and  while  the  two  older 
men  filled  their  pipes  and  smoked  Mr.  James  told  Jack 
the  story  of  this  rock. 

"  Of  course  you  understand,"  he  said,  ''  that  the 
salmon  has  always  been  the  most  important  food  of 
the  year  to  the  Fraser  River  Indians.  It  supplies  them 
with  their  winter  food,  and  indeed  with  provisions  for 
almost  the  entire  year.  To  them,  as  to  almost  all  the 
Indians  along  this  coast,  the  salmon  is  the  staple  food, 
just  as  back  on  the  plains  the  buffalo  is  what  the  Indians 
there  depend  upon.  Just  as  back  in  that  country  the 
buffalo  is  somewhat  a  sacred  animal,  so  here  the  salmon 
are  in  a  degree  sacred;  and  just  as  back  there  the 
Indians  perform  certain  ceremonies  when  they  are 
going  out  to  make  a  big  hunt,  so  here  the  capture  of 
the  first  salmon  is  celebrated  with  religious  ceremony." 

Hugh  nodded  and  said,  "  I  guess  Indians  are  alike 
the  whole  continent  over." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  James,  "  each  summer  the  first 
fish  that  came  up  the  river  and  was  taken,  was  re- 
garded not  as  belonging  to  the  person  who  took  it 
but  to  the  Good  Spirit ;  I  suppose  that  means  the  chief 
god.  As  soon  as  caught,  therefore,  it  was  to  be  taken 
to  the  chief  of  the  tribe,  and  delivered  into  his  keep- 
ing. A  young  girl  was  then  chosen  and  after  having 
been  purified,  she  was  stripped  naked  and  all  over  her 
body  were  marked  crossed  lines  in  red  paint,  which 
represented  the  meshes  of  the  net.  She  was  then 
taken  to  the  water's  edge  and  with  solemn  ceremonies 
the  net  marks  were  washed  off.  This  was  supposed 
to  make  the  people's  nets  fortunate.  Prayers  were 
made  to  the  Good  Spirit  and  the  salmon  was  then  cut 


248        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

up  into  small  pieces,  a  portion  was  sacrificed,  and 
the  remainder  was  divided  into  still  smaller  pieces, 
one  of  which  was  given  to  each  individual  of  those 
present.  This,  Squawitch  tells  me,  was  the  regular 
annual  custom.  Now,  about  this  rock.  One  season 
the  people  had  eaten  all  their  food  and  had  gathered 
here  at  the  river  for  the  fishing,  but  as  yet  no  fish  had 
been  caught,  and  they  were  starving.  It  happened 
that  the  first  salmon  caught  was  taken  by  a  woman, 
and  she  being  very  hungry,  said  nothing  about  its 
capture  but  at  once  devoured  it.  This  was  a  crime  and 
for  it  she  was  changed  by  the  Good  Spirit  into  this 
rock,  which  was  thrown  into  the  river  where  we  see 
it  now,  to  remain  there  forever  as  a  memorial  of  her 
offence,  and  a  warning  to  others." 

"  My,  that 's  a  good  story,  Mr.  James,"  said  Jack. 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  ''  that 's  a  sure  enough  Indian 
story." 

The  pipes  being  knocked  out  they  started  on  up  the 
river.  Just  above  the  first  tunnel  Jack  saw  on  a  stage 
down  near  the  water's  edge,  an  old  Indian  fishing 
with  a  purse  net,  and  as  it  seemed,  catching  a  salmon 
at  every  sweep  he  made.  This  was  too  much  for 
Jack  to  resist,  so  he  clambered  down  the  rocks  to  the 
Indian's  stage.  After  watching  him  for  a  little  while, 
and  noticing  closely  how  he  handled  the  net,  Jack 
took  from  his  pocket  a  quarter  and  held  it  out  to  the 
Indian,  at  the  same  time  reaching  out  his  hand  for  the 
net.  The  Indian  gave  it  to  him  readily  enough,  and 
began  to  dress  the  fish  he  had  already  caught,  while 
Jack  stepping  out  on  the  stage  over  the  water,  began 
to  sweep  the  net  through  the  current  just  as  the  In- 
dian had  done.  At  the  first  sweep  he  felt  something 
strike  the  net  and  loosened  the  string.  He  raised 
the  net  and  —  with  some  difficulty,  for  it  was  big  — 
brought  up  to  the  stage  a  great  ten  pound  salmon. 
He  reached  the  net  back  to  the  Indian  to  take  the  fish 


FISHING   WITH   A   SIWASH  249 

from  it;  and,  then  spreading  it  again,  he  repeated  the 
operation.  In  ten  minutes  he  had  caught  nearly  as 
many  salmon,  all  of  which  were  about  the  same  size. 
No  doubt  the  Indian  would  have  been  willing  to  have 
him  fish  all  day  for  him,  but  his  two  companions,  on 
the  railroad  track  above,  w^ere  getting  impatient  and 
called  to  him.  Jack  gave  back  the  net  to  the  Indian, 
climbed  up  the  bank  and  overtook  his  companions, 
all  three  then  going  on  up  the  track.  It  was  an  inter- 
esting experience,  and  one  that  not  many  people  have 
enjoyed. 

On  their  return  to  town  Hugh  asked  Mr.  James  if 
there  w^as  any  one  in  the  town,  so  far  as  he  knew,  that 
had  ever  crossed  the  mountains  to  the  head  of  the 
Peace  River,  and  followed  that  stream  down  to  the 
eastward. 

Mr.  James  thought  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  then 
said :  ''  Why,  of  course.  I  know  just  the  man,  and  I 
can  take  you  to  him.  It 's  old  man  McClellan.  He 
used  to  be  an  old  Hudson  Bay  man,  and  has  trav- 
elled all  over  the  country.  I  am  very  sure  that  I 
have  heard  him  tell  about  making  that  trip  across 
the  mountains." 

A  little  inquiry  brought  them  to  Mr.  McClellan's 
store.  They  found  him  a  hardy  old  Scotchman  who 
seemed  glad  to  give  them  such  information  as  he  could. 
He  told  them  about  the  streams  that  they  must  go  up 
to  reach  the  head  of  the  Peace  River,  and  that  there 
w^as  a  two  days'  portage  between  the  two  waters, 
those  flowing  east  into  the  Hudson  Bay,  and  those 
west  into  the  Pacific. 

"  The  distance  is  not  so  great,"  he  said,  "  but  it 's 
a  rough  country  and  ye  '11  have  to  go  slowly,  but  it  is 
a  fine  country  to  travel  through ;  lots  of  game,  moose, 
caribou,  and  mountain  goats,  and  plenty  of  fish. 
Ye  '11  never  have  to  starve  there." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  ''  I  don't  know  as  we  '11  ever 


250        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

be  able  to  make  that  trip,  but  I  've  often  thought  about 
it  and  wanted  to.  One  time,  a  good  many  years  ago, 
I  got  hold  of  the  travels  of  Alexander  McKenzie,  the 
man  who  found  the  frozen  ocean,  and  he  crossed  the 
mountains  from  Hudson  Bay  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
and  I  have  always  thought  that  I  would  like  to  make 
that  trip  myself,  but  I  am  getting  old  now  for  trips. 
I  can't  get  around  as  easy  as  I  could  twenty  years 
ago." 

^'  Pshaw,  man,"  said  the  old  Hudson  Bay  voyager, 
"  never  talk  like  that !  You  're  good  for  many  years 
of  travel  yet.  Faith,  I  'd  like  to  take  that  trip  with 
you,  if  you  don't  put  it  ofif  too  long.  It 's  a  fine 
country,  and  I  'd  like  to  go  through  it  again." 

That  evening  at  the  hotel  they  saw  Mr.  Hunter, 
who  told  them  that  he  had  communicated  with  the 
people  at  Hope,  and  had  found  that  it  would  be  easy 
for  them  to  get-^a  packer  and  an  Indian  guide  and 
horses  to  go  ofT  on  the  hunting  trip  if  they  wished 
to.  The  outfit  could  be  ready  to  start  to-morrow 
morning  if  they  felt  like  it.  Jack  and  Hugh  thought 
this  would  be  a  good  thing  to  do,  and  got  from  Mr. 
Hunter  the  name  of  the  man  at  Hope  who  could  give 
them  the  desired  information  and  assistance.  They 
asked  Mr.  James  if  he  would  not  join  them  on  the 
hunt,  but  his  business  required  him  to  return  to  New 
Westminster  at  once.  It  was  determined,  then,  that  all 
should  start  on  the  boat  at  three  o'clock  the  next  morn- 
ing. Jack  and  Hugh  getting  off  at  Hope  and  trying 
to  make  a  start  for  the  sheep  country  that  same 
morning. 


CHAPTER  XX 

OFF   FOR   A    HUNT   IN    THE    MOUNTAINS 

It  was  still  dark  when  the  boat  started,  and  except 
Jack,  Hugh,  and  Mr.  James,  all  the  passengers 
promptly  disposed  themselves  to  sleep  for  a  time. 
The  captain  had  promised  to  stop  at  Hope  and  let  the 
two  hunters  off,  and  their  bags  and  blankets  were  all 
piled  near  the  gangplank  to  be  rushed  off  at  a  moment's 
notice.  In  little  more  than  an  hour  the  boat  whistled, 
slowed  down,  and  drew  up  close  to  the  bank;  the 
wheel  was  reversed  until  the  boat  lay  up  close  to 
the  wharf,  the  gangplank  was  run  out,  Hugh  and  Jack 
shook  hands  with  Mr.  James  and  ran  ashore,  each 
carrying  his  bag  and  gun,  while  two  of  the  deck- 
hands followed  with  their  rolls  of  blankets,  tossed  them 
to  them  on  the  ground,  and  then  rushed  back.  The 
gangplank  was  drawn  in,  the  boat  whistled  and  started 
up,  soon  disappearing  around  a  bend. 

Meanwhile,  two  white  men  and  two  Indians  had 
approached  them  and  accosted  Hugh.  The  older  of  the 
two  white  men  introduced  himself  as  John  Ryder, 
with  whom  Mr.  Hunter  had  communicated  the  day 
before. 

*'  Your  animals  are  all  ready,  Mr.  Johnson,"  he  said ; 
"  and  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  buy  provisions  and  pack 
the  loads  and  start." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  that 's  just  exactly  what  we 
want;  and  the  sooner  we  get  off  the  better  it  will 
please  Mr.  Danvers,  here,  and  me.  Where  are  your 
animals,  and  where  can  we  get  something  to  eat,  and 
what  time  will  the  stores  be  open  ?  " 


252        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

"  If  you  will  come  with  me,"  said  Ryder,  "  I  will 
show  you  the  hotel  and  the  animals;  and  as  soon  as 
you  have  had  your  breakfast  we  can  buy  our  supplies 
and  start.  These  Indians  here  will  carry  up  your 
things." 

*'  Very  good,"  said  Hugh,  "  they  may  as  well  take 
the  blankets  to  the  corral,  wherever  that  is ;  and  we  '11 
take  the  bags  and  guns  with  us." 

Ryder  conducted  them  to  the  hotel  where,  as  yet, 
no  one  was  awake;  and  then,  followed  by  Hugh  and 
Jack  went  to  the  corral  where  there  were  a  dozen 
horses.  The  outfit  seemed  a  good  one;  the  animals 
strong  and  fat.  Ryder  proposed  to  take  six  pack 
animals,  three  with  saw  bucks,  and  three  with  apare- 
jos.  Hugh  and  Jack  looked  over  the  riggings,  which 
seemed  in  good  order;  and  then  they  all  returned  to 
the  hotel.  After  a  talk  with  Ryder  it  was  arranged 
that  they  should  take  Ryder,  a  boy  to  wrangle  the 
horses,  and  an  Indian  who  professed  to  know  the 
hunting  country.  These  with  the  six  packs  would 
make  eleven  animals. 

''  It 's  more  than  I  counted  on  taking,"  said  Hugh, 
"  but  perhaps  it 's  better  to  take  a  horse  or  two  extra 
rather  than  sit  around  for  two  or  three  days  and  fuss 
over  it.  We  won't  save  in  money  and  we  '11  lose  quite 
a  little  time." 

By  ten  o'clock  the  provisions  had  been  purchased 
and  made  up  into  convenient  packs.  Ryder  was  to  fur- 
nish a  tent  and  cook-outfit,  and  got  the  things  together 
at  the  corral.  Then  Hugh,  Jack,  and  Ryder  and  his 
assistant  in  a  very  short  time  packed  all  the  horses 
except  those  which  were  to  carry  the  provisions.  These 
were  taken  down  to  the  store  and  left  there,  and  be- 
fore noon  the  packed  train,  with  Ryder  in  the  lead, 
went  out  of  Hope  and  struck  up  across  the  divide 
between  Nicolume  and  the  head  of  the  Skagit  River. 
For  some  distance  they  followed  the  old  wagon  road 


OFF  FOR  A  HUNT  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS     253 

which  leads  up  between  high  steep  mountains,  through 
beautiful  scenery.  The  cedars  and  firs  were  grand, 
the  mountains  towered  high  and  were  streaked  with 
white  dykes,  and  the  gulches  and  ravines  where  decidu- 
ous trees  grew,  were  bright  with  the  red  of  the  moun- 
tain maples.  Toward  night  they  reached  a  place  called 
Lake  House,  a  cabin  on  the  edge  of  a  wide  meadow  — 
marshy  with  some  standing  water  and  surrounded 
by  willows  and  alders.  Here  Jack  set  up  his  rod 
and  caught  a  few  fairly  good  trout  weighing  nearly 
half  a  pound  apiece,  and  many  little  ones  which  he 
threw  back.  Hugh  came  up  to  see  how  he  was  getting 
along;   and  soon  they  went  back  to  the  camp  together. 

In  the  morning  everything  was  wet,  for  there  had 
been  a  very  heavy  dew.  They  got  off  in  good  season 
and  after  stopping  once  or  twice  to  tighten,  as  the  ropes 
grew  dry,  they  went  on  and  made  good  time. 

During  the  morning  they  passed  two  or  three  pack 
trains,  the  animals  of  which  were  loaded  with  long 
boxes  whose  contents  neither  Hugh  nor  Jack  could 
guess;  but  at  the  first  opportunity  they  asked  Ryder, 
who  explained  to  them  what  these  boxes  contained. 

''  You  see,"  he  said,  ''  it  seems  that  every  China- 
man, when  he  dies  wants  to  go  back  and  be  buried  in 
his  own  country;  and  they  make  arrangements  before 
they  die  that  they  shall  be  taken  back.  I  believe  one 
Chinaman  here  has  the  contract  of  sending  back  all 
British  Columbian  Chinese,  and  he  sublets  the  job,  it 
being  understood  that  the  various  subcontractors  will 
deliver  the  bodies  at  certain  specified  places.  Some- 
times a  Chinese  is  shipped  soon  after  he  dies,  some- 
times not  for  three  or  four  years.  They  seal  them 
up  in  zinc  cases  about  six  feet  long  and  two  feet  wide 
and  put  these  cases  in  crates  of  wood.  These  they  pack 
lengthwise  of  the  horse,  making  for  them  a  sort  of 
platform  which  rests  on  an  aparejo.  The  long  cases 
project  forward  from  the  horse's  neck  and  back  over 


254        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

his  hips,  and  are  pretty  hard  on  their  backs ;  but  they 
ride  well  enough  after  the  ropes  have  been  thrown 
over  them." 

Not  long  after  leaving  the  Lake  House  the  wagon 
road  came  to  an  end,  and  then  for  a  while  the  trail 
followed  down  the  Skagit  River.  All  day  the  way 
led  through  the  mountains,  and  all  day  the  trail 
kept  climbing  higher,  so  that  when  they  camped  that 
night  Ryder  said  that  the  altitude  was  about  five 
thousand  feet.  All  day  long  every  one  was  busy 
hurrying  the  horses  along,  and  no  time  was  taken  for 
hunting.  That  night  there  was  a  heavy  frost,  and 
when  they  awoke  the  next  morning,  it  was  very  cold. 
Five  of  the  horses  were  lost,  and  it  took  some  time 
to  recover  four  of  them,  and  then  they  moved  on, 
leaving  one  behind,  which,  however,  turned  up  later 
and  was  brought  along.  This  also  was  a  day  of 
climbing,  for  they  passed  over  a  mountain  about  seven 
thousand  feet  high.  Several  times  Jack  and  Hugh 
heard  the  familiar  call  of  the  little  chief,  or  rock  hare, 
so  familiar  an  inhabitant  of  the  slide  rock  of  all  the 
mountains  of  the  main  divide. 

That  night  they  camped  on  a  creek  called  Whipsaw, 
and  as  there  was  no  grass  at  the  camp  for  the  horses, 
they  were  turned  out  to  the  mountain  side  to  feed. 
After  they  had  got  into  camp,  Ryder  told  Jack  that  on 
the  creek,  a  couple  of  miles  below  the  trail,  there  was 
a  deer  lick;  and  suggested  that  they  should  go  down 
and  try  to  kill  a  deer,  as  fresh  meat  was  needed.  They 
went  down  and  found  a  spot  where  animals  had  evi- 
dently been  at  work  gnawing  and  licking  the  saline 
clay ;  but,  though  there  were  abundant  signs  all  about, 
no  deer  were  seen. 

The  next  day  after  passing  through  a  beautiful  open 
country  dotted  with  great  pines,  whose  cinnamon- 
colored  trunks  rose  fifty  to  sixty  feet  from  the  ground 
without  a  branch,  they  reached  Alison's  on  the  Smil- 


OFF  FOR  A  HUNT  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS     255 

kameen.  Here  they  stopped  for  a  little  while.  Mrs. 
Alison,  a  very  intelligent  and  kindly  woman,  took  great 
pride  in  showing  Jack  and  Hugh  the  children's  pets  — 
a  great  horned  owl,  a  sparrow  hawk  just  from  the 
nest,  some  attractive  green-winged  teal  and  mallards 
caught  young,  and  a  tame  magpie  which  talked  re- 
markably well  and  spoke  the  names  of  two  of  the  chil- 
dren —  "  Alf reda  "  and  "  Caroline  "  —  very  plainly. 

Keeping  on  down  the  river,  they  camped  below 
Alison's.  The  way  down  the  river  was  beautiful,  for 
on  either  hand  rose  high,  steep,  slide  rock  mountains, 
marked  with  sheep  and  goat  trails,  criss-crossing  in 
every  direction.  Here  and  there  along  the  stream 
stood  an  Indian  cabin. 

"  I  tell  you,  son,"  said  Hugh,  "  We  're  in  a  game 
country  now,  or  what  has  been  a  game  country.  In 
times  past  there  have  been  a  heap  of  sheep  on  these 
mountain  sides  here.  You  see  their  trails  running 
everywhere.  Of  course,  when  a  sheep  trail  is  once 
made  in  the  slide  rock  it  lasts  just  about  forever,  unless 
there  is  some  slip  of  rock  on  a  mountain  side  and  the 
rocks  roll  down  and  cover  it  up." 

That  night  the  Indian,  Baptiste,  confirmed  what 
Hugh  had  said.  Ryder  interpreted  for  him,  saying 
that  sheep  and  goats  were  plenty  near  here  and  that 
to-morrow  they  would  hunt. 

"  In  spring,"  Baptiste  said,  "  when  ploughing  the 
land,  I  often  see  goats  far  down  on  the  cliffs  close  to 
the  river,  but  as  summer  advances  and  it  grows  warm 
and  the  flies  become  troublesome,  the  goats  gradually 
work  up  to  the  tops  of  the  mountains.  There  they 
paw  holes  in  the  earth,  in  which  they  stand  and  stamp; 
and  sometimes  wallow  and  roll  to  get  rid  of  the  flies." 

"  All  right,"  said  Hugh,  *'  we  will  see  what  Baptiste 
can  show  us  to-morrow." 

''  The  way  that  Indian  talks,"  he  added,  "  sounds  to 
me  just  like  Kutenai.     I  have  heard  a  lot  of  Kutenais 


256        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

talk  in  the  Blackfeet  camps,  and  elsewhere,  and  I  would 
like  to  know  if  this  Baptiste  is  a  Kutenai." 

"  I  guess  not,"  said  Ryder ;   ''  he  's  a  Smilkameen." 

"  Ask  him,"  said  Hugh,  "  if  the  Smilkameens  and 
Kutenais  are  relations." 

The  answer,  given  through  Ryder,  was  "  No." 

"  Ask  him,"  said  Hugh,  "  if  their  languages  are 
alike." 

Baptiste  replied :  "  Yes,  the  two  languages  are  not 
quite  the  same,  but  they  sound  alike."  He  added: 
"  In  the  same  way  the  tongue  spoken  by  the  Okanagan 
Indians  is  much  like  my  language." 

Hugh  shook  his  head  and  said :  "  That  may  be  so, 
but  I  don't  feel  a  bit  sure  about  it.  Often  it 's  very 
hard  to  make  an  Indian  understand  what  you  're  try- 
ing to  get  at,  even  if  you  can  speak  his  own  language ; 
but  after  it  has  to  go  through  two  or  three  inter- 
preters there 's  a  big  chance  of  a  misunderstanding 
somewhere." 

"  Well,  Hugh,"  said  Jack,  "  what  shall  we  do  to- 
morrow? Go'  on  farther  or  stop  here  and  hunt?  I 
understand  that  Baptiste  says  that  there  are  plenty 
of  goats  hereabouts,  and  if  we  want  some  we  can 
easily  get  them." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  we  need  some  meat  and  we 
might  just  as  well  stop  here  for  a  day  if  you  think  best 
and  see  whether  we  can  kill  a  kid  or  two,  or  a  dry 
nanny.  You  know  I  don't  think  much  of  goat  meat; 
and  yet,  of  course,  it 's  meat,  and  good  for  a  change 
from  bacon.  I  '11  ask  Baptiste  what  the  prospects 
are." 

Calling  up  Ryder,  Hugh  had  begun  to  question 
Baptiste,  when,  out  of  the  darkness,  another  Indian 
stepped  up  to  the  fire  and  saluted  the  white  men  in 
pretty  fair  English.  A  little  talk  with  him  developed 
that  he  was  Tom,  a  brother  of  Baptiste.  After  a  few 
questions   Baptiste  and   Tom  both  agreed  that  there 


OFF  FOR  A  HUNT  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS     257 

was  every  opportunity  to  kill  goats  here.  Tom  said 
that  in  the  early  summer  he  often  saw  them  from  the 
trail,  as  he  was  travelling  back  and  forth.  It  was 
finally  decided  that  they  should  stop  here  for  one  day 
and  make  a  hunt  and  then  proceed  to  the  sheep 
country. 

The  next  morning  Baptiste,  Tom,  Hugh,  and  Jack 
started  on  foot  up  a  small  creek  which  came  out  of 
the  hills  near  Baptiste's  house.  The  way  was  steep 
and  narrow  and  they  had  followed  the  stream  up  two 
or  three  miles  before  any  pause  was  made.  Two  or 
three  times  the  glass  revealed  white  objects,  which 
close  observations  showed  to  be  weather-beaten  logs. 
Suddenly  Tom  stopped  and  declared  that  he  saw  a 
goat.  The  white  men  all  looked  through  their  glasses 
and  declared  that  it  w^as  a  stump,  but  after  going  a 
little  further  and  looking  at  it  again  it  appeared  that 
the  white  men  had  been  looking  at  the  wrong  object, 
and  that  Tom's  goat  was  lying  on  the  ledge  in  plain 
sight.  After  going  a  little  farther  along  another  goat 
was  discovered  high  on  the  hillside,  a  little  below  the 
first  and  quite  close  to  it.  They  were  six  or  seven 
hundred  yards  away  and  close  to  the  creek.  To  ap- 
proach them  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  up  the  stream 
to  a  point  well  above  them,  and  then  to  climb  the 
mountains  on  which  they  were,  get  above  them,  and 
then  come  down  behind  a  point  which  would  appar- 
ently be  within  shooting  distance  of  them. 

Before  they  reached  the  point  where  the  creek  must 
be  crossed,  Hugh  said  to  Jack :  ''  Now,  son,  you  go 
with  Tom  and  try  to  get  these  goats,  and  I  will  take 
Baptiste  and  go  farther  up  the  stream  and  climb 
that  high  hill  you  see.  I  may  get  a  shot  there,  and 
you  have  a  good  chance  here." 

Jack  crossed  the  stream  with  Tom  and  they  tugged 
up  the  side  of  the  mountain,  which  was  very  steep 
and  much  obstructed  by  fallen  timber.     Two  or  three 

17 


258        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

times  Jack  had  to  sit  down  and  puff  for  breath,  for 
it  was  nearly  a  year  now  since  he  had  done  much 
in  the  way  of  cHmbing  stiff  mountains,  but  Tom 
seemed  tireless.  At  last  Tom  declared  that  they  had 
climbed  high  enough  above  the  goats  to  make  it  safe 
to  work  along  the  mountain  side  to  the  point  above 
them.  The  hillside  was  more  or  less  broken  with 
ravines  and  all  of  these  were  rough  with  slide  rock 
and  fallen  timber.  They  had  just  reached  the  edge 
of  one  of  these  gulches  and  had  stopped  for  a  moment's 
rest  when  the  highest  of  the  goats,  which  they  could 
now  see  below  them,  came  running  up  out  of  the  timber 
from  below  to  where  the  other  goat  w^as  lying.  This 
one  got  up,  and  it  was  then  seen  that  there  were  four 
goats,  two  old  ones  and  two  kids;  and  all  began  to 
move  up  the  mountain  side.  Evidently  something 
had  frightened  them.  They  had  not  seen  Jack  or 
Tom,  nor  smelt  them,  but  were  looking  down  into  the 
valley.  They  moved  off  along  the  mountain  side  going 
up  diagonally,  and  Jack  and  Tom  watched  them  until 
they  disappeared  behind  some  ledges.  Then  the  two 
set  off  after  them  as  hard  as  they  could  go.  It  was 
pretty  wild  travelling  across  the  gulches,  but  when 
they  came  out  onto  the  ledges  where  the  goats  had 
gone,  the  footing  was  easier  and  the  going  better. 
They  followed  the  ledges  for  some  little  distance,  keep- 
ing to  a  goat  trail.  In  this  trail  w^ere  seen  now  and 
then  tracks  where  something  had  just  passed  along, 
but  there  were  no  hoof  marks.  The  trail  was  too  hard 
for  that,  but  every  now  and  then  a  place  would  be 
seen  where  some  animal  had  stepped  on  a  stone  and 
partly  turned  it  over,  or  where  the  moss  was  knocked 
from  a  stone  where  a  hoof  had  struck  it  but  a  very 
short  time  before.  They  kept  along  the  trail,  passing 
through  some  low  timber  and  presently  came  out 
again  onto  the  ledges,  and  there  —  hardly  forty  feet 
away  from  them  stood  three  goats.     One  of  them 


OFF  FOR  A  HUNT  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS     259 

was  clambering  up  a  little  ravine  and  just  about  to 
disappear  behind  the  rocks,  the  other  two,  a  mother 
and  her  kid,  stood  on  a  rock,  looking  up  the  mountain 
side. 

"Shoot!"  said  Tom,  "Shoot!"  Jack  fired  two 
shots  at  the  nearest  goat  and  kid,  and  both  of  them 
fell  off  the  rock  they  had  been  standing  on  and  began 
to  roll  down  the  hillside. 

Tom  gave  a  wild  whoop  of  joy  and  shouted, 
"  Good  shoot !  Good  shoot !  "  and  then  asked  Jack  if 
he  wanted  to  kill  the  other,  but  Jack  said  "  No,"  these 
two  were  enough,  and  they  started  down  the  hill  to  get 
the  game.  The  animals  had  rolled  a  long  way,  but  at 
length  they  found  them,  took  off  the  skins,  and  took 
what  meat  they  needed.  Tom  went  down  the  stream, 
and  cutting  some  long  shoots  of  a  tough  shrub,  he 
worked  them  back  and  forth,  partly  splintering  them, 
and  made  from  them  two  rather  stiff  ropes  which  he  tied 
together  with  a  knot.  With  these  he  made  up  a  pack  of 
the  skins  and  meat,  put  the  load  on  his  back,  and  they 
started  for  the  camp.  When  they  reached  the  trail 
down  the  valley  they  sat  down  for  some  time  and 
waited  for  Hugh  and  Baptiste;  but,  as  they  did  not 
come,  after  some  hours'  waiting,  Tom  took  his  pack 
on  his  back  and  they  went  on  to  the  camp.  While 
they  were  waiting,  Jack  inquired  of  Tom  as  to  the 
names  of  the  sheep  and  goats,  and  Tom  said,  as  nearly 
as  Jack  could  make  out,  that  in  the  Smilkameen  tongue, 
the  male  mountain  sheep  was  called  "  shzvillops/' 
while  the  ewe  was  called  "  ychhahlahkin."  The  goat 
in  Smilkameen  was  called  "  sJiogkJilit,''  while  the  Port 
Hope  Indians  called  goat  ''  p'kalakai" 

Tom  said  that  farther  on,  in  the  country  to  which 
they  were  going,  there  were  many  sheep. 

An  hour  after  Jack  and  Tom  had  reached  camp, 
Hugh  and  Baptiste  returned,  bearing  the  skin  of  a  two- 
year-old  male  goat,  which  had  been  killed  on  the  other 


26o        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

side  of  the  mountain  they  had  dimbed.  It  had  been 
a  hard  tramp  and  a  long  stalk. 

That  night  as  they  talked  about  game  and  hunt- 
ing, Baptiste  said  that  at  the  head  of  the  Okanagan 
Lake  caribou  were  very  plenty.  The  distance  from 
where  they  were  would  be  about  eighty  or  ninety 
miles. 

The  next  morning  while  Jack  was  preparing  the 
goat  skins  for  packing  up,  he  was  much  surprised  to 
find  the  ears  of  the  goats  full  of  wood  ticks.  In  one 
of  the  ears  he  counted  no  less  than  twenty  ticks,  and 
some  of  them  were  so  deep  down  in  the  ear  that  when 
he  was  skinning  the  head  he  saw  the  ticks  as  he  cut 
ofif  the  ears.  He  wondered  whether  this  might  not 
account  in  some  part  at  least  for  the  apparent  inat- 
tention of  goats  to  sounds.  He  asked  Baptiste  about 
this,  but  got  no  particularly  satisfactory  answer  to  his 
question;  and  he  thought  perhaps  the  Indian  did  not 
understand  him,  but  Baptiste  did  say  distinctly  that 
sometimes  ticks  got  into  ears  of  human  beings  and 
made  them  deaf. 

While  Jack  was  attending  to  his  goat  skins,  Hugh 
and  Tom  went  off  to  another  mountain  to  look  for 
sheep.  A  little  bunch  of  seven  were  found  lying  down 
in  an  excellent  position.  There  was  no  wind  and  a 
careful  stalk  was  made;  but  just  as  the  two  got  up 
to  within  shooting  distance  a  light  breeze  began  to 
blow  from  them  to  the  sheep,  and  at  the  very  instant 
that  Hugh  was  pulling  his  trigger  at  a  ram  that  was 
lying  down,  the  bunch  smelt  them  and  sprang  to  their 
feet.  It  was  too  late  for  Hugh  to  hold  his  fire,  and 
instead  of  killing  the  ram  he  cut  a  little  tuft  of  hair 
from  the  brisket.  In  an  instant  the  whole  bunch  of 
sheep  were  out  of  sight.  Hugh  came  into  camp  much 
depressed  and  related  his  adventure  to  Jack. 

''  I  expect,  son,"  he  said,  ''  that  that  Indian  thinks 
you  can  shoot  all  around  me.     All  the  way  coming 


OFF  FOR  A  HUNT  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS     261 

home,  after  I  missed  that  sheep,  he  kept  telhng  me 
what  a  good  and  careful  shot  you  were.  He  said  he 
had  taken  out  many  white  men  to  hunt,  but  he  never 
saw  anybody  that  shot  as  straight  and  as  carefuHy  as 
you." 

Jack  laughed  and  said :  "  He  little  knows  the  dif- 
ference between  you  and  me,  Hugh,  in  matters  of 
shooting.  Anybody  could  have  hit  those  goats,  for 
they  gave  me  all  the  time  there  was,  and  they  were  n't 
more  than  forty  yards  away.  It  was  like  shooting 
at  the  side  of  a  barn." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  of  course  if  I  had  known 
that  those  sheep  were  going  to  jump  up,  I  could  easily 
have  fired  quicker  but  I  thought  I  had  all  the  time  there 
was  and  I  intended  to  shoot  so  that  that  ram  would 
never  get  up;  but  I  never  could  explain  it  to  that  In- 
dian, you  bet." 

"  Oh,"  said  Jack,  ''  he  will  have  plenty  of  time  to 
see  you  shoot  later  on,  I  expect." 

The  next  morning  the  train  was  packed  early  and 
they  started  on.  Baptiste  led  the  way,  Jack  followed 
him,  and  Hugh  and  Tom  came  behind.  Ryder  brought 
up  the  rear  and  watched  the  animals.  An  hour  or  two 
after,  two  blue  grouse  were  startled  from  the  trail 
and  flew  up  into  the  tall  trees  where  they  stood  on  the 
great  limbs  with  outstretched  necks. 

''  Hugh,"  said  Jack,  "  give  Tom  an  idea  of  your 
shooting." 

"  Why,  what 's  the  use,"  said  Hugh,  "  wasting  two 
cartridges  on  those  birds.  This  kid  meat  is  good 
enough." 

"  No,"  said  Jack,  "  I  want  to  have  Tom  see  you  cut 
those  birds'  heads  off." 

''  Well,"  said  Hugh,  ''  all  right,  if  you  wish  me  to." 
Drawing  his  horse  a  little  out  of  the  trail,  but  not  dis- 
mounting, he  fired  two  shots  which  brought  down  the 
two  grouse.     Tom  was  sent  for  them,  brought  them 


262        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

in,  and  found  that  in  each  case  the  bullet  had  cut  off 
the  bird's  neck.  The  Indian  looked  at  the  birds  rather 
solemnly  and  then  at  Hugh,  and  then  shook  his  head 
as  if  he  could  not  understand  how  the  man  who  could 
miss  the  sheep  the  day  before  should  have  been  able 
to  make  these  two  shots.  Jack  laughed  at  him  and 
said :  "  Good  shot,  eh,  Tom  ?  "  Tom  declared  that 
the  shot  was  good. 

One  day's  journey  brought  the  party  to  the  Ashnola 
Country,  a  region  of  high  rounded  hills,  over  which 
farther  back  from  the  river  rose  still  higher  peaks 
and  precipices  of  rocks.  It  is  a  country  of  beautiful 
scenery  and  abounded  in  game.  A  large  lick,  where 
animals  had  been  licking  and  gnawing  the  earth  until 
great  hollows  had  been  dug  in  it,  was  seen;  and 
farther  along  as  they  travelled  up  the  trail  on  the 
south  side  of  the  creek  they  saw  a  number  of  sheep 
working  down  on  to  a  cut  bank,  which  was  evidently 
a  lick.  Before  the  sheep  were  noticed  they  had  seen 
the  party  and  there  was  then  no  opportunity  to  hunt 
them.  The  animals  were  only  three  or  four  hundred 
yards  away  and  were  not  alarmed.  Later  in  the 
day,  on  another  cut  bank,  another  band  of  fifteen 
sheep  was  seen  at  a  lick  and  might  have  been  easily 
approached  but  the  party  did  not  stop.  All  these  sheep 
were  ewes  and  lambs.  That  night  the  train  climbed 
pretty  well  up  a  mountain  and  came  on  a  little  bench 
seven  or  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  main  stream, 
where  they  camped.  The  country  seemed  to  be  full 
of  sheep,  for  Jack,  going  out  to  look  for  water,  came 
across  a  band  on  a  grassy  hillside,  but  too  far  off  to  be 
shot  at. 

The  camp  was  a  pleasant  one  in  a  little  group  of 
pines  with  water  not  far  off,  and  the  hillsides  cov- 
ered with  admirable  grazing  for  the  animals.  After 
supper,  Baptiste  and  Tom  told  them  that  three  or  four 
miles  back  in  the  hills  were  high  rocky  peaks  where 


OFF  FOR  A  HUNT  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS     263 

many  sheep  were  to  be  found,  and  it  was  determined 
that  the  next  day  they  should  visit  these  hills.  The 
Indians  said  that  it  was  possible  to  get  up  there  with 
horses,  but  that  the  trail  was  steep  and  hard.  Jack 
and  Hugh,  after  talking  the  matter  over  and  counting 
up  the  days  and  realizing  that  two  days  later  it  would 
be  necessary  for  them  to  start  back  to  the  coast,  deter- 
mined that  instead  of  taking  their  animals  they  would 
carry  their  blankets  on  their  backs  and  would  visit 
these  hills,  camp  there,  and  have  a  look  at  the  country, 
and  then  would  return  to  camp  and  thence  to  Hope. 

The  next  morning  they  were  off  early,  accompanied 
by  the  two  Indians,  while  Ryder  was  left  to  look  after 
the  animals. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

LAST   DAYS   IN    BRITISH    COLUMBIA 

As  the  Indians  had  said  the  trail  was  very  steep, 
but  after  a  time  they  reached  an  open  timber  plateau 
country,  beautiful  to  travel  through  but  without  ap- 
parent game.  After  a  little  while,  however,  the  timber 
grew  less,  and  they  could  see  before  them  gently  roll- 
ing hills  from  which  at  some  distance  rose  a  bald, 
snowy  mountain.  They  walked  swiftly  along,  and  the 
great  mountain  grew  nearer. 

''  I  tell  you,  Hugh,"  said  Jack,  ''  that  looks  like  a 
good  sheep  country !  " 

''  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  it  does,  and  from  what  we 
have  seen  I  expect  there  are  plenty  of  them  there." 

''  This  is  the  sort  of  place  where  we  ought  to  find 
big  rams,"  said  Jack,  with  a  laugh. 

"  Right,"  replied  Hugh ;  "  but  you  've  hunted 
enough  to  know  that  big  rams  are  not  always  found 
where  they  ought  to  be." 

"  No,"  said  Jack,  "  that 's  an  old  story ;  the  big 
rams  are  always  '  farther  back.'  " 

''  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  they  are  always  '  farther 
back,'  but  what  that  means,  I  guess  nobody  knows. 
I  expect  that  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  big  rams,  keep- 
ing together  as  they  do,  for  all  the  season  except  in 
rutting  time,  and  being  few  in  numbers  compared 
with  the  ewes  and  young  ones,  are  harder  to  find, 
just  because  they  are  few  in  number." 

The  afternoon  was  far  advanced  when  they  reached 
the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Here,  snow  lay  on  the 
ground  two  or  three  inches  deep.     By  a  little  spring 


LAST    DAYS    IN    BRITISH    COLUMBIA     265 

they  found  a  white  man's  camp  that  had  been  made 
early  in  the  season.  In  the  fresh  snow  Hugh  pointed 
out  to  Jack  the  tracks  of  a  wolverine  which  had  been 
about  the  camp  recently,  nosing  around  to  see  what  it 
could  find.  A  few  moments  later  one  of  the  Indians 
came  up,  and  Hugh  said :  "  Tom,  do  you  know  whose 
camp  this  is?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Tom,  "  three  young  men  who  were 
here  the  moon  before  last.  They  hunt  a  great  deal. 
They  fire  a  good  many  shots.    Not  kill  many  animals." 

The  fireplace,  the  picket  pins,  and  a  shelter  built 
of  spruce  boughs,  showed  that  the  people  had  been 
here  for  some  time. 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  let 's  camp  right  here. 
There  is  a  good  shelter  for  us  in  case  it  rains,  as  it 
looks  likely  to  do  now.  Now,  Tom,  you  and  Baptiste 
get  supper,  will  you,  and  son  and  I  will  take  a  little  walk 
from  the  camp,  and  see  what  we  can  see." 

The  two  started  off,  not  toward  the  mountain  but 
rather  toward  a  large  ravine  which  ran  down  from  it. 
They  had  gone  but  a  few^  hundred  yards,  when,  as  they 
were  nearing  the  crest  of  a  little  ridge  at  the  foot  of  an 
old  moraine  which  ran  down  from  the  mountain,  Hugh 
put  out  his  hand  and  sank  slowly  down  to  the  ground. 
Jack  crouched  beside  him,  and  Hugh  said :  "  There  's 
a  sheep  just  over  the  ridge;  crawl  up  and  kill  it." 
Jack  cautiously  approached  the  ridge  and  looking  over, 
saw  not  more  than  seventy-five  yards  away  a  sheep 
walking  away  toward  the  next  ridge.  The  wind  was 
right,  and  it  was  evident  from  the  animal's  actions  that 
it  had  neither  seen  nor  smelt  the  men.  Her  hips  were 
toward  him,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  fire  at  her  in  that 
position  for  fear  of  spoiling  the  meat,  so  he  waited.  A 
moment  later  she  walked  over  the  ridge  and  out  of 
sight,  and  Hugh  and  Jack  followed.  When  they 
looked  over  the  next  ridge,  they  saw  the  sheep,  broad- 
side toward  them.     The  sun  was  low  and  glittered  on 


266        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

Jack's  front  sight  and  troubled  him  a  Httle;  and  he 
took  aim  two  or  three  times  without  pulHng  the  trigger. 
As  it  was,  he  shot  a  little  too  high,  but  the  animal 
fell,  and  they  hurried  up  to  it.  It  was  moderately  fat, 
and  Jack  and  Hugh  carried  the  meat  into  the  camp  on 
their  backs. 

The  next  morning  they  were  early  afoot  and  climbed 
the  mountain.  They  had  gone  hardly  a  mile  from 
the  camp  when  they  found  seven  sheep  feeding  on  a 
perfectly  bare  hillside  where  there  was  no  cover  what- 
ever. It  was  useless  to  try  to  approach  them,  and  as 
they  were  in  the  direction  in  which  the  two  wanted  to 
go,  Hugh  and  Jack  disregarded  them,  and  presently 
the  sheep  ran  off.  Constantly  climbing,  they  came 
nearer  and  nearer  the  top  of  the  mountain.  The  grass 
began  to  give  w^ay  to  pebbles  and  stones,  and  the  snow 
got  deeper  and  deeper.  Presently  they  reached  the  top 
of  the  mountain ;  and,  crossing  its  narrow  crest,  looked 
down  into  a  beautiful  little  glacial  basin  which  contained 
a  charming  lake  and  meadow.  Feeding  in  this 
meadow  were  twelve  sheep,  far,  far  below  them,  and 
quite  out  of  reach.  The  wind  was  blowing  fiercely 
across  the  mountain  top  and  they  crept  down  into  a 
shelter  behind  some  rocks  and  for  some  time  sat  there 
and  watched  the  sheep.  Soon  after  they  were  first 
seen,  the  animals  went  down  to  the  border  of  the  lake 
and  drank,  and  then  came  up  on  to  the  meadow  again 
and  lay  down.  After  a  little  while,  some  movement, 
or  perhaps  the  glitter  of  some  piece  of  metal  about  the 
men,  startled  the  sheep.  They  rose  and  looked  at  them, 
and  then  walked  off,  and  after  a  little  while  began  to 
feed  again.  Later,  when  Jack  and  Hugh  got  up  and 
climbed  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  the  sheep,  not  much 
alarmed,  moved  slowly  off  and  climbed  up  the  moun- 
tain side  into  a  deep  icy  gorge  in  which  was  a  great 
mass  of  snow. 

Jack  and  Hugh  went  on  for  some  distance,  looking 


LAST   DAYS    IN    BRITISH    COLUMBIA     267 

down  into  one  big  canon  after  another,  but  seeing  noth- 
ing more,  turned  back  to  go  to  the  camp.  On  the  way 
back  they  came  upon  a  flock  of  white-tailed  ptarmigan 
of  which  there  were  about  twenty-five.  Jack  had  never 
killed  one  of  these  birds,  and  was  anxious  to  have  a 
full  grown  one  in  his  hands. 

''  Is  there  any  reason,  Hugh,"  he  asked,  ^'  why  I 
should  not  kill  one  of  these  birds  ?  " 

"  None  at  all,  so  far  as  I  see,"  said  Hugh.  "  The 
wind  is  blowing  so  hard  that  nothing  ahead  of  us  will 
be  able  to  hear  the  firing.  If  you  want  to  kill  one, 
do  so." 

The  wind  was  blowing  a  perfect  gale  and  when 
Jack  approached  the  pretty  birds,  they  rose  at  some 
little  distance,  flew  a  few  yards,  and  then  alighted  on 
a  snow  bank  in  which  they  at  once  scratched  out  shal- 
low hollows  where  they  crouched,  more  or  less  pro- 
tected from  the  wind.  The  gale  made  it  diflicult  for 
Jack  to  hold  his  gun  steady  and  the  first  shot  that  he 
fired  was  a  miss,  for  he  overshot  the  bird.  At  the 
crack  of  the  gun  they  all  rose  and  flew  a  little  farther 
away,  and  his  next  shot  killed  one.  It  was  in  almost 
full  winter  plumage,  though  there  were  others  in  the 
flock  that  had  only  partly  changed  from  the  black  and 
tawny  of  summer  to  the  white  winter  coat.  Jack 
wanted  to  skin  the  bird,  but  the  ball  from  his  rifle  had 
raked  its  back  and  torn  off  a  great  many  feathers. 
Nevertheless  he  put  it  in  his  pocket  so  that  at  night 
he  would  have  an  opportunity  to  study  it  by  the  light  of 
the  fire. 

On  the  way  home  the  two  men  had  a  beautiful  view 
from  the  top  of  the  mountain,  looking  down  into  a  most 
picturesque  basin  walled  in  on  all  sides  by  superb 
mountains  and  containing  a  beautiful  lake.  Between 
the  tops  of  the  mountains  and  the  valley  there  were 
three  benches  or  steps.     The  lake  lay  in  the  valley. 

The  next  morning  Hugh  loaded  the  Indians  up  with 


268        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

most  of  the  camp  equipment  and  some  of  the  meat, 
and  sent  them  back  to  camp,  he  and  Jack  retaining 
only  their  guns  and  blankets.  They  made  a  long 
round  of  the  lower  slopes  of  the  mountains,  seeing  a 
number  of  sheep,  and  at  length  came  to  a  place  where 
deer  were  more  numerous  than  they  had  ever  seen 
them  before.  It  would  have  been  easy  to  kill  a 
great  number,  but  as  they  had  no  means  of  trans- 
porting the  meat  to  the  camp  they  did  not  fire  at  all. 
Toward  mid-day  they  came  out  into  a  little  park  where 
a  number  of  deer  were  lying  down,  and  walking 
quietly  up  to  them,  got  within  fifteen  or  twenty  steps 
of  the  animals  before  they  seemed  to  take  the  alarm. 

It  was  now  time  to  turn  back  and  return  to  camp. 
There  Hugh  and  Jack  made  packs  of  their  blankets 
and  set  out  for  the  lower  ground.  For  some  time  the 
tracks  of  the  Indians  were  plainly  visible,  —  but  at 
length  it  began  to  snow,  and  the  tracks  were  soon 
covered.  Moreover,  their  landmark,  the  mountain 
which  lay  behind  them,  was  no  longer  visible,  and  the 
only  guide  they  had  was  the  wind,  which  blew  from  the 
right  or  southeast. 

''  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  we  've  got  to  look  out  now, 
or  we  are  liable  to  get  lost." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  it 's  quite  likely  that  we  won't 
be  able  to  strike  a  trail  leading  down  the  mountain, 
but  of  course  we  will  be  able  to  find  the  camp." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Hugh ;  "  no  trouble  about  that, 
only  I  would  rather  go  into  camp  by  the  same  trail  I 
left  it  by,  if  I  can.  However,  if  we  don't  hit  the  trail  the 
only  thing  we  '11  have  to  do  is  to  follow  down  the  ridge 
to  the  river  and  there  we  '11  find  the  trail  of  the  pack- 
train,  and  that  will  take  us  straight  to  the  camp." 

''  It  would  be  rather  a  good  joke  on  you,  Hugh," 
said  Jack,  "  if  we  were  to  get  lost." 

''  So  it  would,"  said  Hugh ;  "  so  it  would,  son. 
Perhaps  we  would  have  been  smarter  if  we  had  n't 


LAST   DAYS    IN    BRITISH    COLUMBIA     269 

sent  those  Indians  off.  Of  course  this  is  their  country 
and  they  know  it,  and  you  and  I  have  never  been  here 
before.  We  're  all  right,  however,  if  the  wind  does  n't 
shift.  If  that  should  change  we  might  easily  enough 
get  twisted.  However,  we  've  got  the  river  sure  to  take 
us  to  camp." 

An  hour  or  two  later,  some  time  after  they  had 
got  into  the  timber,  Hugh  stopped  and  said :  "  Son, 
I  think  we  're  off  the  track.  I  believe  we  've  kept 
over  too  far  to  the  left  and  have  missed  the  trail.  I 
don't  see  anything  that  I  recognize  as  having  seen 
before." 

''  Well,"  said  Jack,  *'  you  can't  prove  anything  by 
me.  I  don't  see  anything  that  I  've  seen  before  and 
this  snow  and  these  gray  tree  trunks  all  look  alike  to 
me.  I  have  been  watching  for  the  past  half  hour  to 
see  where  we  were,  but  I  haven't  any  idea  of  it." 

''  Well,"  said  Hugh,  "  it 's  cold  and  snowy  and  likely 
to  be  wet ;  let 's  push  down  to  the  river  and  get  to 
camp  that  way,  if  we  can't  any  other."  An  hour  and 
a  half  later  they  were  going  down  a  steep  hill  clothed 
with  lodge-pole  pines,  and  before  long  had  come  to  the 
level  land,  and  in  a  few  moments  were  out  of  the  timber. 
On  the  lower  ground  the  snow  had  changed  to  rain 
and  the  trees  and  bushes  were  wet.  There,  before 
them,  ran  the  river;  and  there  close  to  the  river  was 
the  deep  trail  worn  by  the  feet  of  the  horses.  Turning 
up  the  river  they  followed  the  trail,  climbed  the  hills, 
and  just  at  dark  were  once  more  in  camp. 

Ryder  was  a  little  disposed  to  laugh  because  they 
had  come  into  camp  from  the  side  opposite  to  that 
from  which  they  had  left  it ;  but  Hugh  said,  and  Jack 
agreed  with  him,  that  on  a  night  like  that  it  was  good 
to  get  to  camp  in  any  way  they  could. 

The  next  day  the  train  was  packed  early,  and  three 
days  of  long,  fast  travel  took  them  back  to  Hope. 
There  they  learned  that  the  next  morning  there  would 


270        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

be  a  steamer  down  the  river,  and  they  prepared  to 
take  it. 

Long  before  dayhght,  Hugh  and  Jack,  with  bags 
and  blankets,  were  w^aiting  in  the  canoe  for  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  steamer  and  as  soon  as  it  was  seen 
coming  they  fired  four  shots  to  attract  the  pilot's  atten- 
tion. Presently  the  boat  shut  off  steam  and  began  to 
back,  and  the  canoe  was  soon  alongside.  The  bag- 
gage was  tossed  out;  a  handshake  and  a  good-by  to 
Ryder  and  Baptiste,  and  after  a  moment  more  the 
wheels  were  turning  and  the  steamer  sped  down  the 
river  carrying  Hugh  and  Jack  toward  New  West- 
minster. The  night  was  spent  here,  a  pleasant  call 
made  on  Mr.  James,  and  the  following  morning  they 
embarked  for  Victoria,  and  the  next  night  were  at 
Tacoma,  where  they  found  Mr.  Sturgis. 

It  was  a  pleasant  meeting.  Mr.  Sturgis  told  them 
much  about  his  mine,  and  what  he  had  seen  on  his 
journey  to  and  from  it,  while  Jack  was  full  of  the 
beauties  of  the  British  Columbian  coast.  But  he  said, 
that  as  far  as  he  saw,  it  was  not  a  good  hunting 
country.  "Of  course,  there  are  lots  of  deer  and  goats 
and  some  bears,  but  they  are  too  easily  killed  to  make 
hunting  very  good  sport." 

''  But  then,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis,  "  you  really  did  n't 
hunt,  did  you?    You  just  followed  the  beach." 

"That's  true,"  said  Hugh,  "and  it  isn't  fair,  of 
course,  to  judge  a  country  that  you  have  only  just 
touched.  Now,  take  it  on  that  little  trip  that  we  made 
from  Hope.  I  don't  know  as  I  ever  saw  sheep  and 
goats  so  plenty,  and  there  were  plenty  of  deer  in  the 
only  place  we  had  time  to  look  for  them.  But  of  course 
we  just  put  in  a  few  days  to  use  up  the  time  until  we 
had  to  get  here  to  see  you." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  I  suppose  that  anybody  who  has 
been  used  to  hunting  on  the  plains  and  on  the  foot-hills 
of  the  mountains  where  buffalo  and  elk  are  plenty  is 


LAST   DAYS    IN    BRITISH    COLUMBIA     271 

likely  to  have  a  wrong  idea  of  the  game  in  a  country 
where  the  animals  don't  gather  together  in  great  big 
bunches." 

''  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis,  "  that 's  true  enough,  I 
guess." 

After  dinner  that  night  Mr.  Sturgis  said :  "  Well,  it 
is  time  for  us  all  to  get  back  to  our  different  jobs. 
You  and  I  have  got  to  go  back  to  the  ranch,  Hugh,  and 
see  how  the  beef  round-up  is  getting  on ;  and  you, 
Jack,  have  got  to  get  East  as  fast  as  you  can,  and  get 
to  school.  I  think  as  good  a  way  as  any  for  us  to  return 
is  to  go  back  over  the  railroad  that  is  just  being 
built  from  Portland,  and  in  that  way  we  will  see  a  new 
country.  The  country  will  be  new,  even  to  you,  Hugh, 
won't  it,  as  far  east  as  Idaho?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  my  range  has  never  been  out 
west  of  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille  and  Flathead  Lake  and 
all  this  Oregon  and  Washington  country  is  new  to 
me." 

''  Well,"  said  :\Ir.  Sturgis,  "  let 's  get  down  to  Port- 
land and  then  go  up  the  Columbia  River  till  we  strike 
the  railroad.  I  know  General  Sharpe,  one  of  the  offi- 
cials of  the  road,  and  I  think  he  will  help  us  across  the 
break  between  the  end  of  the  track  in  Washington  Ter- 
ritory and  the  settlements  in  Montana.  What  do  you 
say?" 

"I  say  'Bully!'"  exclaimed  Jack. 

''  It  suits  me,"  said  Hugh,  *'  but  where  will  this 
bring  us  out?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis,  ''  it  ought  to  bring  us  out 
about  Deer  Lodge,  and  there  is  a  little  narrow-gauge 
road  being  built  over  from  Corinne  in  Utah  on  the 
Union  Pacific,  which  by  this  time  must  be  somewhere 
near  these  Montana  towns.  Of  course,  when  we  get 
on  a  railroad  that  connects  with  the  Union  Pacifiic  we 
are  just  about  home." 

The   next   morning   the   railroad   carried    them   to 


2^2        JACK   THE   YOUNG    CANOEMAN 

Kalama,  where  they  took  the  steamer  to  Portland. 
The  sail  between  the  two  points  was  beautiful.  At  one 
time  they  could  see  from  the  steamer's  deck  no  less  than 
six  different  snow-covered  peaks,  which  ranged  from 
nine  to  fourteen  thousand  feet  in  height.  These  were 
Mt.  Ranier,  St.  Helens,  Adams,  Hood,  Jefferson,  and 
the  Three  Sisters.  From  Portland  the  steamer  took 
them  up  the  Columbia  River  through  a  beautiful  coun- 
try to  the  Cascades.  For  the  first  few  miles  of  the  sail 
the  bottom  was  wide  and  the  hills  were  distant,  but  after 
a  time  they  reached  a  stretch  where  the  river  flowed 
between  walls  of  rock.  A  great  sheet  of  lava  covers 
the  whole  face  of  the  country.  From  the  hills,  which 
stretch  back  from  the  river  and  are  covered  with 
long  yellow  grass,  rose  numberless  walls  and  piles  of 
lava  rock  which  cast  black  shadows.  The  country  was 
open,  and  the  park-like  slopes  were  dotted  with  dark 
spruces  and  pines.  Along  the  river  water  and  wind 
had  worn  the  rocks  into  curious  shapes,  sometimes  like 
columns  or  obelisks,  or  again  like  great  ovals  set  on  end. 

Along  the  bank  of  the  river  at  several  points  thou- 
sands of  blue-bloused,  broad-hatted  Chinamen  were 
busily  at  work,  evidently  on  a  railroad  embankment. 

"  This,"  Mr.  Sturgis  said,  "  is  a  railroad  being  built 
by  the  O.  R.  &  N.  Company  between  Portland  and  the 
Dalles." 

"  Well,"  said  Hugh,  ''  it  seems  to  be  the  same  story 
everywhere ;  railroads  being  built,  and  then  people  fol- 
lowing the  railroads;  farms  and  big  towns  growing 
up;  the  game  all  going,  and  when  the  game  goes  of 
course  the  Indian  goes  too." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis,  ''  this  is  material  pros- 
perity for  the  United  States.  You  and  I  have  seen  the 
beginning  of  it,  but  I  don't  believe  that  either  of  us 
have  any  notion  at  all  of  where  it  is  going  to  end. 
But  there  is  one  thing  that  we  can  be  sure  of,  that  no 
consideration  of  game  or  Indian  or  other  natural  thing 


LAST    DAYS    IN    BRITISH    COLUMBIA     273 

is  going  to  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  material 
growth  of  the  country.  We  people  who  know  how 
things  used  to  be,  and  who  like  them  as  they  were, 
may  grumble  and  think  the  change  is  for  the  worse; 
but  nobody  will  pay  any  attention  to  our  grumbling 
and  the  changes  will  go  on." 

At  the  Cascades  they  changed  to  a  train  which  took 
them  seven  miles  around  the  rapids,  and,  then  board- 
ing another  steamer,  proceeded,  until,  just  at  dusk, 
they  reached  the  Dalles. 

"  Do  you  know,  Jack,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis,  when  their 
journey  was  just  about  over,  "  that  this  country  that 
we  have  been  passing  through  is  historic  ground  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Jack,  "  I  did  n't  know  that." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis,  "  you  have  heard  of  the 
old  fur  trade,  have  n't  you,  and  Astoria,  and  how  John 
Jacob  Astor  sent  people  out  to  found  a  trading  station 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River?  " 

"  No,"  said  Jack,  "  I  don't  believe  I  have." 

"  I  have,  though,"  said  Hugh ;  "  and  I  have  known 
two  or  three  men  in  my  time  that  worked  in  that  out- 
fit. One  man  especially  who  went  across  the  country 
with  a  man  named  Hunt." 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis,  "that's  it.  Mr.  Astor 
sent  ships  around  the  Horn  with  supplies  to  found  this 
station,  and  he  also  sent  an  expedition  across  the 
country.  The  cross  country  party  had  trouble  with 
the  Indians  and  starved,  and  generally  had  a  hard 
time,  and,  after  the  post  was  established,  while 
they  got  lots  of  furs  they  had  considerable  trouble 
with  the  Indians  all  the  time.  The  British  claimed 
the  country,  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  people  said  that 
Astoria  was  in  their  territory.  Then  came  the  war 
of  181 2,  and  the  fort  at  Astoria  was  surrendered  to 
the  Hudson's  Bay  people;  and  that  was  the  end  of 
that  trading  post,  so  far  as  the  Americans  were  con- 
cerned.    But  all  up  and  down  this  river  that  we  have 

iS 


274        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

been  travelling  up,  the  Northwesters  and  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  men  used  to  go  backward  and  forward 
portaging  around  these  rapids  that  we  have  just  been 
over,  and  working  as  hard  as  the  old  fur  traders 
always  worked.  The  story  of  these  travels  has  been 
written  by  a  good  many  of  the  people  who  took  part 
in  them,  and  some  day  it  will  be  worth  your  while  to 
hunt  up  these  old  books  and  read  that  story.  It  is  a 
fascinating  one." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  it 's  sure  an  interesting  story; 
though  I  have  never  seen  the  books,  I  have  heard  a 
good  deal  of  it  told.  It  used  to  be  talked  about  a 
whole  lot  in  early  days." 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis,  "a  lot  of  those  old 
Astorians,  as  Astor's  employees  at  Astoria  were  called, 
wrote  books  giving  their  experiences,  and  it  would  be 
well  worth  your  while  to  read  them.  I  remember  the 
names  of  some  of  them  —  Alexander  Ross,  Ross  Cox, 
Franchere  —  and  besides  them  some  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  people,  into  whose  hands  the  place  passed  later, 
wrote  exceptionally  interesting  accounts  of  life  at  the 
fort,  of  their  journeys  up  and  down  the  river,  and  of 
their  travels  over  the  mountains. 

"  Sometime,  when  we  get  back.  Jack,  ask  me  about 
these  books  and  I  will  make  a  list  of  them  for  you. 
Most  of  them  are  out  of  print  now,  and  can  only  be 
had  at  the  libraries ;  but  they  are  books  that  will  repay 
reading,  and  the  same  thing  can  be  said  of  a  great 
number  of  volumes  dealing  with  the  exploration  of 
the  western  country.  It  is  astonishing  that  we  Ameri- 
cans know  so  little  about  matters  which  should  be  of 
so  much  interest  to  us.  Do  you  realize  how  little  is 
known  about  the  work  of  these  early  explorers,  traders, 
and  trappers?  Some  few  of  us  are  familiar  with 
it,  but  most  of  the  people  back  East  know  nothing 
whatever  about  these  men.  Pretty  nearly  all  of  this 
work  has  been  done  within  the  past  seventy-five  years, 


LAST    DAYS    IN    BRITISH    COLUMBIA     275 

some  of  it  within  fifty  years,  and  none  of  it  goes  back 
a  century." 

"  Here  is  Hugh/'  he  went  on ;  ''  he  has  knowledge  of 
the  western  country  back  almost  to  the  time  of  that 
early  exploration,  and  he  certainly  has  known  many 
men  who  were  of  the  early  generation  of  the  trappers. 
Isn't  that  so,  Hugh?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  that 's  sure  enough  true.  Air. 
Sturgis.  I  knew  well  Uncle  Jack  Robinson,  the 
Bakers,  Bridger,  Beckwourth,  and  a  whole  lot  of  men 
that  came  into  the  country  in  the  thirties  or  before. 
I  have  met  old  Bill  Williams  and  Perkins,  and  know 
old  man  Culbertson  well.  I  guess  likely  he  's  alive 
now." 

"  Why,  even  you,  Jack,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis,  "  know 
old  man  Monroe,  and  he,  according  to  all  accounts, 
came  into  the  country  in  181 3." 

"  That 's  so.  Uncle  George,"  said  Jack ;  "  that  goes 
back  a  long  way,  doesn't  it?" 

"  Well  now,  do  you  realize  that  probably  before  any 
of  us  die  this  w^hole  western  country  will  be  crowded 
full  of  people;  that  there  will  be  railroads  running  in 
all  directions,  and  that  the  centre  of  population  of  the 
country  will  be  probably  moved  from  Pittsburg,  where 
it  is  now,  to  somewhere  in  the  Mississippi  valley,  and 
perhaps  not  far  from  the  big  river  itself?"  said  Mr. 
Sturgis. 

"  I  have  n't  been  out  here  so  many  years,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  but  I  have  seen  changes  take  place  in  this 
country  that  have  astonished  me,  and  I  can  see  that 
these  changes  are  going  to  keep  taking  place,  and  that 
almost  before  we  know  it  sections  of  country  through 
which  now  w^e  can  travel  for  weeks  at  a  time  with- 
out seeing  any  people  will  be  full  of  ranches  and 
farms  and  towns.  We  think  of  the  United  States  as 
being  a  big  country  now,  but  I  believe  it  has  n't  made 
a  beginning  yet." 


276        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

"  Well,  Mr.  Sturgis,"  said  Hugh,  "  I  guess  likely 
what  you  say  is  right.  But  what 's  going  to  happen 
to  all  the  old  things  that  used  to  be  in  the  country? 
What 's  going  to  happen  to  the  game,  to  the  buffalo, 
to  the  Indians  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis,  "  the  game,  and  buffalo, 
and  Indians  are  natural  things,  and  they  cannot  stand 
up  in  the  face  of  civilized  things.  The  game  will  be 
killed  off  except  in  little  spots  like  Yellowstone  Park; 
the  Indians  will  be  crowded  onto  their  reservations 
and  kept  there,  and  will  either  be  turned  into  farmers 
or  cow  men,  or  else  will  starve  to  death.  The  people 
of  this  country  are  going  to  see,  I  believe,  that  all  this 
waste  region,  for  that  is  what  they  call  it,  shall  be  made 
to  produce  something.  Cattle  will  take  the  place  of 
buffalo,  sheep  will  take  the  place  of  deer  and  antelope. 
After  a  while  farmers  will  come  in,  and  then  the  big  cat- 
tle and  sheep  men  will  be  crowded  out  in  turn.  The 
farmers  will  raise  crops  from  the  ground  instead  of 
sheep  and  cattle.  People  will  have  farms  and  a  few 
head  of  cattle,  but  the  days  of  the  '  cattle  kings  '  will 
pass  away.  It 's  a  process  of  evolution,  my  boy,"  he 
said  to  Jack,  "  and  you  and  I  will  see  it  work  itself 
out." 


CHAPTER    XXII 

THE    HOMEWARD    ROAD 

At  the  Dalles  the  travellers  had  changed  from 
steamer  to  train,  and,  journeying  all  night  on  the  cars, 
reached  Walla  Walla  early  next  morning.  Here  they 
found  a  beautiful  town  of  about  five  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, situated  in  a  section  possessing  a  fertile  soil 
and  a  delightful  climate.  Gardens  were  growing 
and  fruit  ripening,  and  all  things  were  bright  and 
green.  Twelve  miles  from  Walla  Walla  was  the 
almost  deserted  town  of  Wallula.  Here  a  branch  line 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  took  the  party  on 
to  South  Ainsworth  on  Snake  River.  Nothing 
could  have  presented  a  greater  contrast  than  the  two 
towns  which  were  seen  on  the  same  day,  Walla  Walla 
and  Ainsworth.  The  first  was  from  every  point  of 
view  attractive,  the  second  a  sand  waste  on  the  banks 
of  the  Snake  River,  a  hopeless  straggling  little  town 
of  a  dozen  or  twenty  houses  set  down  in  the  midst  of 
a  dreary  desert  of  sage  brush,  utterly  monotonous  and 
uninteresting.  Here  the  travellers  were  obliged  to 
pass  one  day,  and  all  through  that  day  and  all  through 
the  night  the  wind  blew  with  steady,  persistent  force, 
carrying  with  it  the  sands  of  the  plain,  which  it  piled 
up  here  and  there  in  great  dunes  and  then  lifted  again 
and  carried  on  to  some  other  point.  The  sandhills 
were  constantly  shifting  and  being  tossed  backward 
and  forward,  as  restless  and  inconstant  as  the  waves 
of  the  ocean.  Often  the  sand  is  piled  high  upon  the 
sparse  vegetation,  and  again  it  is  carried  away  so  that 
the  roots  of  that  vegetation  are  uncovered. 


278        JACK   THE  YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

After  one  day  here  they  boarded  a  train  and  left 
for  Spokane  Falls,  which  was  just  about  at  the  end 
of  the  track  which  was  being  built  eastward.  As  they 
jogged  slowly  along  in  the  caboose  of  the  freight  train, 
which  moved  unsteadily  over  the  newly  laid  track,  they 
had  an  opportunity  to  see  much  of  the  country.  At 
first  there  was  little  to  it  that  was  attractive,  but  after 
leaving  Snake  River  the  quality  of  the  land  seemed  to 
improve,  and  Hugh  frequently  called  attention  to  the 
good  grass,  and  declared  that  he  believed  that  some 
day  this  country  would  be  full  of  cattle. 

Jack,  who  had  been  thinking  of  what  his  uncle  had 
said  two  or  three  days  before,  said  to  Mr.  Sturgis: 
"  You  don't  think.  Uncle  George,  that  any  part  of 
this  country  like  Ainsworth  will  ever  be  good  for 
anything,  do  you  ?  " 

''  Yes,  my  boy,  I  do,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis ;  "  of  course 
we  cannot  see  now  how  this  country  will  ever  be  made 
use  of,  but  fifty  years  ago  who  would  have  thought 
that  the  Salt  Lake  Valley  was  capable  of  cultivation, 
or  thirty  or  forty  years  ago  that  Walla  Walla  would 
ever  be  a  town.  I  believe  that  this  country  will  fill 
up  with  cattle  and  for  a  little  time  will  be  a  grazing 
country,  and  then  I  think  that  it  will  come  to  be  a 
farming  country.  The  winters  here  are  mild,  the  soil 
is  good,  and  there  is  plenty  of  water.  There  are  going 
to  be  people  here,  and  towns,  but  I  don't  know  when." 

A  little  distance  after  leaving  a  station  called  Sum- 
mit they  passed  Big  Lake,  and  here  entered  a  territory 
where  there  were  already  farms.  They  could  see  fre- 
quently houses  with  good  barns,  and  the  fields  were 
dotted  with  haystacks.  There  were  also  herds  of  cattle 
and  horses,  all  fat  and  in  good  condition. 

It  was  nearly  night  when  they  reached  Spokane. 
As  court  was  in  session  the  town  was  thronged  with 
people,  and  they  had  great  difficulty  in  securing  rooms. 
At  last,  however,  a  loft  was  found  where  they  spread 


THE    HOMEWARD    ROAD  279 

their  blankets  and  passed  a  good  night.  Before  dark, 
however,  they  took  time  to  walk  along  the  Spokane 
River  to  see  the  Falls,  a  series  of  beautiful  cascades 
wdiich  were  well  worth  looking  at. 

Mr.  Sturgis  had  provided  himself  with  letters  from 
the  officials  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  to  the 
employees  along  the  road,  and  the  next  morning  they 
left  for  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille.  Thirty-five  miles  trav- 
elling took  them  to  Westwood,  the  end  of  the  track, 
and  there  they  took  a  stage  for  the  Lake.  The  three 
were  the  only  passengers,  and  the  ride  was  long  and 
dusty,  yet  possessed  many  features  of  interest.  The 
road  ran  for  the  most  part  along  the  railroad's  right 
of  way,  and  they  could  see  all  the  various  operations 
of  the  building  of  this  great  transatlantic  highway. 
After  they  had  passed  the  end  of  the  track  they  came 
to  one  of  the  enormous  railroad  camps  which  always 
precede  the  iron  of  a  new  road.  Here  was  a  real 
canvas  city,  and  its  inhabitants  w-ere  white  men, 
Chinese,  horses,  mules,  and  dogs.  Everything  was  on  a 
large  scale.  The  eating  tents  covered  an  area  equal 
to  that  of  a  good-sized  town.  There  w^ere  hundreds 
of  sleeping-tents.  There  were  great  forges  at  which 
many  blacksmiths  w^orked,  and  huge  water  troughs 
at  which  twenty-five  horses  could  drink  at  a  time. 
The  bread-pan  in  the  cook  tent  was  large  enough  to 
serve  a  full-grown  man  as  a  bath  tub.  Hugh  and 
Jack  could  only  stare  and  wonder  and  point  out  to 
each  other  one  astonishing  thing  after  another;  and 
even  Mr.  Sturgis,  whose  experience  had  been  much 
wider  than  that  of  either  of  his  companions,  was  much 
impressed. 

As  the  stage  approached  the  lake,  the  road  became 
constantly  rougher.  They  passed  from  the  railroad 
camp  and  saw  first  tlie  bridge  workers,  next  the 
graders,  and  then  the  ''  right  of  way "  men,  whose 
business  it  was  to  chop  their  way  through  the  forest 


28o       JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

and  clear  off  all  the  timber  along  the  line  of  the  track 
for  a  width  of  fifty  feet.  After  the  timber  was  felled 
it  was  left  to  dry  and  was  then  set  on  fire. 

"That's  bad  business,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis;  "these 
men  think  of  nothing  but  the  convenience  of  the 
moment.  All  these  fires  that  they  are  kindling  and 
that  they  are  leaving  to  burn  here  may  set  the  hills 
on  fire,  and  large  tracts  of  country  may  be  burned 
and  much  valuable  standing  timber  destroyed." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hugh,  "  these  men  think  of  nothing 
but  the  quickest  way  of  getting  rid  of  anything  that 
they  don't  use." 

"  It 's  the  fault  of  the  contractors,"  said  Mr.  Sturgis, 
"  and  some  means  should  be  found  to  stop  such  a 
destruction  of  timber." 

A  little  later,  as  the  stage  approached  the  lake,  they 
could  see  the  woods  on  fire  everywhere.  The  stage- 
driver  told  them  that  this  had  gone  on  for  some  time, 
and  that  on  two  or  three  occasions  recently  the  fires 
had  been  so  extensive  that  the  stage  had  been  unable 
to  get  through  to  the  lake,  and  had  been  forced  to  turn 
around  and  return. 

On  this  day  the  driver  went  carefully  and  succeeded 
in  picking  out  places  where  he  could  get  through, 
though  more  than  once  the  stage  drove  between  piles 
of  blazing  logs  which  made  it  uncomfortably  warm 
for  the  passengers.  The  timber  was  largely  pine  and 
hackmatack,  but  there  was  also  some  white  and  some 
yellow  birch. 

Not  long  after  the  fire  had  been  left  behind  they  came 
into  an  open  country,  from  which,  ahead  of  them,  they 
could  see  a  large  sheet  of  water;  and  presently  from 
a  hill  they  looked  down  upon  beautiful  Lake  Pend 
d'Oreille,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  towering,  timbered 
hills. 

At  the  end  of  the  stage  line  there  was  an  engineer's 
camp;  and  here,  to  Mr.  Sturgis'  great  surprise,  he  met 


THE    HOMEWARD    ROAD  281 

among  the  engineers  two  friends  whom  he  had  not 
seen  for  yearb  and  whom  he  httle  expected  to  meet  in 
this  far  off  spot.  The  surprise  was  a  mutuaUy  dehght- 
ful  one.  His  friends  seized  him,  and  Jack,  and  Hugh, 
and  insisted  on  their  sharing  the  hospitahty  of  their 
camp,  and  a  very  dehghtful  evening  was  spent  there. 

Some  distance  down  Pend  d'Oreille  River,  or  as 
it  is  often  called,  Clark's  Fork  of  the  Columbia,  and 
so  some  miles  from  the  engineer's  camp,  was  a  place 
known  as  Siniaqueateen,  which  in  the  Flathead  lan- 
guage means  ''  the  place  where  we  cross."  Here  was 
the  supply  depot  for  the  engineer  department  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  railroad,  and  here  were  the  head- 
quarters of  Mr.  Galbraith,  the  commissary,  who  had 
charge  of  the  advance  transportation  of  the  railroad. 
To  him  Mr.  Sturgis  had  a  letter  from  the  railroad 
officials;  and  to  Siniaqueateen  the  travellers  went  the 
next  morning.  It  was  a  small  settlement,  consisting  of 
a  trader's  store  and  house,  and  two  or  three  other  stores 
and  houses,  and  the  office  buildings  belonging  to  the 
railroad.  Here  is  the  ford  across  the  river  which  gives 
the  place  its  name;  and  here  is  where  the  trail  be- 
tween the  Flathead  Lake  and  the  Kootenay  District  of 
British  Columbia,  distant  over  two  hundred  miles, 
crosses  the  stream.  From  time  immemorial  this  has 
been  a  crossing  place  for  the  Indians,  travelling  north 
and  south  through  the  country.  Now  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  there  was  a  camp  of  Kutenai  Indians. 

About  the  ferry  were  lounging  many  Indians,  who, 
to  Jack's  eye  seemed  quite  different  from  the  Coast 
Indians,  and  much  more  like  the  people  of  the  plains 
to  whom  he  was  accustomed.  He  asked  Mr.  Gal- 
braith about  these  people,  and  Mr.  Galbraith,  who  knew 
a  number  of  the  individuals  of  the  two  tribes,  told  him 
something  about  them. 

"  These  Flatheads  that  you  see  here  belong  in  the 
country  as  do  also  some  Kutenais,  but  not  those  that 


2S2        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

have  just  come  in,  and  are  in  camp  here.  They  are 
from  the  north  and  are  bringing  down  their  furs 
to  trade." 

"  Why  do  they  call  them  Flatheads,  Mr.  Galbraith?  " 
asked  Jack.  "  They  don't  seem  to  have  their  heads 
flattened  as  the  Coast  Indians  have.  The  heads  of 
these  people  are  shaped  like  those  of  any  one." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Galbraith,  "  I  don't  know  why 
they  are  called  Flatheads,  but  that  is  the  name  for  them 
in  this  country.  They  do  not  call  themselves  by  that 
name.  They  call  themselves  Kallispelms.  They  are 
pretty  good  Indians,  hunt  all  through  this  region,  farm 
a  little,  and  have  plenty  of  horses.  In  July  or  August 
they  always  come  down  to  the  lake  shore,  because  then, 
when  the  water  is  low,  and  the  big  meadows  on  the 
edge  of  the  lake  are  exposed,  the  camas  grows  up,  and 
they  dig  the  roots  which  form  a  considerable  portion 
of  their  vegetable  food." 

"  I  have  heard  of  camas,"  said  Jack,  "  but  I  don't 
think  I  ever  saw  it  grow  to  know  it.    What  is  it  like?  " 

"  Why,"  said  Mr.  Galbraith,  "  I  don't  know  what  the 
books  call  it ;  but  it  is  a  root  that  grows  in  damp  places, 
has  two  long  leaves  like  a  lily,  and  a  slender  stalk 
that  bears  a  blue  flower.  The  root  is  shaped  somewhat 
like  an  onion  or  a  tulip.  The  women  gather  them  in 
great  quantities.  Then,  after  they  are  gathered,  they 
are  cooked  and  then  dried  for  use  in  the  winter.  After 
they  have  been  dried  the  roots  are  about  as  big  as  the 
end  of  your  finger;  and  just  after  cooking  they  are 
sweet,  something  like  a  chestnut.  The  Indians  make 
a  very  good  bread  by  squeezing  a  lot  of  the  newly 
cooked  bulbs  together." 

"  How  do  they  cook  them  ?  "  asked  Jack. 

*'  Oh,  in  the  usual  way,"  said  Galbraith.  "  They  dig 
a  big  hole  in  the  ground ;  build  a  fire  in  it  in  which  they 
heat  stones  and  then  spread  grass  over  the  hot  stones. 
They  then  pile  in  a  great  quantity  of  the  roots,  covering 


THE   HOMEWARD   ROAD  283 

them  with  grass,  and  next  with  hot  stones.  Then 
the  whole  thing  is  covered  with  earth,  and  the  pit  is 
left  alone  for  three  or  four  days.  The  women  know 
when  to  open  it,  and  when  they  do  so  and  take  off  the 
stones  and  the  grass  the  heat  of  the  stones  has  cooked 
the  roots  which  have  turned  dark  brown  in  color  and 
are  ready  to  use.  It 's  fun  to  see  the  children  cluster 
around  when  the  pit  is  opened,  and  to  see  them  struggle 
to  get  the  grass  which  has  covered  the  roots.  This 
grass  is  covered  with  a  sweet  syrup  and  the  children 
delight  to  suck  it.  I  suppose  there  are  a  lot  of  roots  and 
berries  which  the  Indians  know  of  and  use,  of  which 
we  know  nothing  at  all." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  ''  I  know  that  is  so  in  my  country. 
There  is  hardly  any  time  in  the  summer  but  there  is 
some  vegetable  food  ripening  that  the  Indians  know  of 
and  use." 

''  There  's  another  root  called  kaus,  that  the  Kute- 
nais  know  of,"  said  Mr.  Galbraith.  "  They  dry  and 
pound  up  these  roots  and  then  mix  them  with  water 
and  bake  them  in  cakes,  and  they  make  a  good  bread. 
These  roots  are  sweet  and  aromatic.  Of  berries,  the 
sarvis  berry  is  perhaps  the  most  important,  and  it  grows 
abundantly  all  through  the  mountains,  but  there  are 
a  number  of  other  berries,  fruits,  and  roots." 

That  night  Mr.  Sturgis  had  a  talk  with  Mr.  Gal- 
braith, who  said  that  he  could  very  easily  take  them 
across  the  lake  in  the  company's  sailboat,  and  then 
would  give  them  saddle  and  pack  horses  to  take  them 
up  the  Pend  d'Oreille  River,  to  the  Jocko  or  any  other 
point  that  they  might  wish  to  go  to.  At  the  Jocko,  they 
could  hire  some  Indian  or  half-breed  to  drive  them 
on  to  Deer  Lodge,  and  from  Deer  Lodge  they  could 
take  the  stage  to  Missoula  or  Silver  Bow,  which  he 
understood  was  then  the  end  of  the  track  of  the  narrow- 
gauge  road  running  up  from  the  South.  To  all  hands 
this  seemed  the  best  way  to  get  home;    and  as  they 


284        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

were  now  on  the  very  borders  of  Montana  it  seemed 
that  they  had  but  a  short  distance  to  go  before  they 
would  once  more  be  in  their  own  country. 

The  next  morning  early,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Gal- 
braith  and  with  a  crew  of  three  or  four  voyageurs,  they 
started  out  from  Siniaqueateen  for  the  Lake.  The 
river  gradually  became  more  and  more  wide  and  the 
scenery  was  very  beautiful.  The  stream  valley  was 
broad,  and  smooth  grassy  meadows  dotted  here  and 
there  with  willows  and  other  small  trees  sloped  gently 
up  to  the  higher  land  from  the  water's  edge. 

Before  they  had  reached  the  lake,  a  number  of  In- 
dians were  seen  paddling  close  along  the  shore  in  their 
canoes,  which  were  of  a  type  entirely  new  to  Mr. 
Sturgis  as  well  as  to  Jack  and  Hugh.  These  structures 
were  sharply  pointed  at  both  ends,  and  as  much  as  any- 
thing resembling  cylinders  of  bark. 

"  These  canoes  are  different  from  anything  I  ever 
saw  before,"  said  Hugh.  "  I  know  the  birch  canoes 
of  the  North,  and  I  have  just  come  back  from  a  voyage 
in  the  wooden  canoes  of  British  Columbia,  but  I  never 
saw  anything  like  this.  What  are  they  made  of,  and 
how  are  they  made?" 

"  They  are  made  of  pine  bark,"  said  Mr.  Galbraith^ 
"  and  they  are  queer  canoes.  I  never  saw  them  any- 
where except  in  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains and  about  two  or  three  hundred  miles  north  and 
south.  The  Indians  take  the  bark  from  the  white  pine 
in  very  large  sheets  and  make  rolls  of  it,  which  they 
stow  away  dry  until  they  need  it.  Then  they  soak 
the  bark  in  water  until  it  becomes  soft  and  pliable  and 
easy  to  handle.  Then  they  make  a  frame  of  small 
cedar  poles  lashed  together  with  strips  of  cedar  bark, 
and  this  frame  is  then  covered  with  sheets  of  this  pine 
bark,  which  are  sewed  together  with  tamarack  roots, 
and  patched  with  resin  from  the  fir  tree.  The  outside 
of  the  bark  is  on  the  inside  of  the  canoe,  and  the  In- 


THE    HOMEWARD    ROAD  285 

dians  paddle  on  both  sides.  These  canoes  are  mighty 
cranky,  and  upset  very  easily.  Of  course  sails  are 
never  used  in  them,  but  the  Indians  keep  close  to  the 
shore,  and  do  not  dare  to  cross  over  from  point  to 
point." 

The  next  morning  there  was  a  good  breeze.  They 
started  to  cross  the  Lake  and  soon  after  noon  reached 
the  Northern  Pacific's  camp  at  the  mouth  of  Clark's 
Fork.  The  company's  surveyors  were  laying  out  the 
line  up  this  river;  and  their  supplies  and  mail  were 
ferried  across  the  lake  and  carried  east  along  the  line 
of  the  road  which  led  up  toward  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
Mountains.  Here  Mr.  Galbraith,  with  great  energy 
got  together  an  outfit  of  pack  and  saddle  animals,  and 
the  next  morning  a  little  train  of  seven  animals  filed 
out  of  the  camp  and  took  the  trail  for  Missoula. 

The  journey  up  Clark's  Fork  was  a  delightful  one 
and  took  about  seven  days.  The  party  travelled  fast, 
stopping  neither  to  hunt  nor  fish.  Deer  and  bear  signs 
were  plenty,  and  in  a  few  cases  white-tailed  deer  were 
seen,  but  none  were  killed.  The  daylight  hours  were 
spent  in  riding  through  the  beautiful  river  valley  and 
among  the  great  cinnamon-colored  trunks  of  giant  pines 
that  formed  the  chief  timber  of  the  country,  and  at 
night  the  party  was  always  ready  for  supper  and  bed. 

Hugh  and  Mr.  Sturgis  were  enthusiastic  about  the 
prospects  of  this  region,  where  there  was  much  fine 
land  and  unlimited  grazing. 

At  the  Jocko,  the  wagon  road  began ;  and  here  the 
pack  train  was  dismissed  and  the  travellers'  guns  and 
blankets  were  transferred  to  a  wagon  driven  by  one 
of  the  large  tribe  of  McDonalds,  descendants  of  some 
old  Hudson's  Bay  trader  who  had  married  a  Flathead 
woman.  They  were  then  taken  to  Missoula,  and  from 
there  to  Deer  Lodgs,  Lc  logis  de  chcvrcuils,  as  their 
driver  called  it. 

From  Deer  Lodge  it  was  a  matter  of  a  little  staging 


286        JACK   THE   YOUNG   CANOEMAN 

to  Melrose,  which  was  then  the  terminus  of  the  Utah 
and  Northern  raih-oad.  Here  Mr.  Sturgis,  Jack,  and 
Hugh  found  themselves  back  again  in  bustling,  hurry- 
ing America,  and  oppressed  by  the  feeling  that  they 
must  at  once  get  back  to  their  work.  They  were  soon 
once  more  on  the  cars,  flying  at  high  speed  toward  their 
destinations. 

Three  days  later  on  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  Mr. 
Sturgis  and  Hugh  shook  hands  with  Jack  and  left 
him  alone,  and  three  days  later  he  was  once  more  in 
New  York. 


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